Manchester City’s winger, Raheem Sterling, has publicly apologized to Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai for a peculiar penalty incident he was involved in. The penalty he was awarded appeared to be a result of a clear non-foul. This bizarre occurrence took place during Wednesday’s Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk, which ended with City securing a resounding 6-0 victory.
During the game, it was evident that the English forward stumbled and tripped himself while sprinting towards the goal. Despite this self-inflicted trip, the referee deemed it a foul and awarded a penalty. At the time of the penalty, City was already ahead after David Silva scored in the 13th minute, followed by Gabriel Jesus successfully converting the penalty, the first of his three goals.
Sterling reportedly felt embarrassed by his own actions and took the initiative to approach the referee to clarify the situation. This act of honesty is commendable, even though there is a general rule prohibiting players from disputing the referee’s decisions.
Furthermore, questions were raised regarding the assistant referee’s inaction, as he failed to signal to the referee that there was no opposing player involved in Sterling’s trip. Surprisingly, there was a collective silence on the field, with even Shakhtar’s players reacting with laughter rather than protesting the decision. Following the penalty call, Gabriel Jesus capitalized on the opportunity to score, putting City two goals ahead and solidifying their dominance in the match.
