Simon Hooper

Simon Hooper

Hooper in 2024
Born	(1982-05-03) 3 May 1982 (age 42) [1] Swindon, England
Domestic
Years	League	Role
?–2008	National League	Referee
2008–18	The Football League	Referee
2018–	Premier League	Referee

Simon Hooper (born 3 May 1982) is an English football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League. His county FA is the Wiltshire Football Association. ^[2] He was promoted to the Select Group in 2018. ^{[2] [3]}

Career

On 8 August 2015, Hooper refereed his first Premier League match between Norwich City and Crystal Palace, a game which ended in a 1–3 victory for the visitors. ^[4] In that game, he controversially disallowed Cameron Jerome's bicycle kick goal for dangerous play. ^{[4] [5]}

On 29 September 2018, Hooper refereed his third Premier League match and his first since his promotion to Select Group 1 between Newcastle United and Leicester City, with the game ending in a 0–2 victory for Leicester. ^{[6] [7]}

On 14 August 2023, Hooper was the referee for a Premier League match featuring Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, a game which ended in a 1–0 win for the hosts. In extra time, United goalkeeper Andre Onana collided with Wolves forward Sasa Kalajdzic in the penalty area. Despite protests from players, Hooper did not award Wolves a penalty and VAR did not intervene on the decision. After the game, PGMOL apologized to Wolves manager Gary O'Neil for the error, admitting that a penalty should have been given. ^[8] Hooper and two VAR officials were subsequently dropped from refereeing for the following Premier League weekend fixtures. ^{[9] [10]}

On 30 September 2023, Hooper was the referee for a Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, a game which resulted in a 2–1 victory for Spurs. Luis Diaz had a goal ruled out for offside by the linesman – the decision was not questioned by VAR despite an "unusually quick decision" with no lines being drawn. ^[11] Subsequently released VAR audio recordings showed Hooper praising the VAR team in the immediate aftermath of the decision, saying "Well done, boys. Good process." ^[12] After the match, PGMOL released a statement admitting that this was a "significant human error" and that "VAR failed to intervene". ^{[13] [14]} Liverpool later released a statement acknowledging PGMOL's admission of failure, stating that it was "unsatisfactory that sufficient time was not afforded to allow the correct decision to be made and that were was no subsequent intervention", and that they will "explore a range of options ... given the clear need for escalation and resolution." ^[15]

On 3 December 2023, Hooper was the referee for a Premier League fixture between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, which ended in a 3–3 draw. In the 94th minute, Erling Haaland was fouled, but immediately got back up and passed the ball to Jack Grealish, who had a clear opportunity to score. Despite initially appearing to play the advantage, Hooper then blew his whistle, calling for play to be stopped and a free kick to be taken by Man City where Haaland was fouled. Man City players, most notably Haaland, responded aggressively, surrounding Hooper and shouting at him for not giving them the advantage and denying them a possible winning goal. The decision was widely criticised, with Jermaine Jenas calling it "an absolute shocker" when appearing on Match of the Day 2. In a post match interview, Ruben Dias called it a "frustrating decision" and "one that shouldn't have happened". ^[16] Haaland later posted a clip of the incident on Twitter with a caption simply reading "Wtf". While he did not face personal charges, the FA issued a charge against Man City and stated "the club failed to ensure their players do not behave in a way which is improper". ^{[17] [18]} Pep Guardiola accepted the charge but stood by his players, supporting their reactions by saying "it's emotions, it's feelings". ^[19] The League chose not to suspend Hooper from refereeing, acknowledging his decision as a human error. ^[20]

References

1. "Meet the Referee – Simon Hooper". SCFC2.co.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
2. "Simon Hooper". Premier League. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
3. "Simon Hooper – Matches as referee". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
4. Osborne, Chris (8 August 2015). "Norwich City 1–3 Crystal Palace". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
5. "Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey slams Simon Hooper for his errors in Norwich City defeat". Eastern Daily Press. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
6. Easterby, Tom (25 September 2018). "Hooper to referee Foxes clash". Newcastle United FC. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
7. "Hooper: To be at the top is a real honour". Premier League. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
8. "Andre Onana: Wolves boss Gary O'Neil says PGMOL's Jon Moss apologised after Man Utd goalkeeper's challenge was 'blatant penalty'". Sky Sports. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
9. Whittell, Martin Hardy, Ian (15 August 2023). "Manchester United vs Wolves: Referees behind VAR error stood down". ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 15 August 2023.
10. "Ref, VAR off Prem duty after Onana penalty error". ESPN.com. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
11. "'Unfair' and 'crazy decisions' anger Klopp in Spurs loss". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
12. "VAR audio released from Liverpool's disallowed goal by Luis Diaz in defeat at Spurs" . Retrieved 3 October 2023.
13. "PGMOL admit 'significant human error' in Spurs win over Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
14. "PGMOL admits VAR offside error to disallow Diaz goal". ESPN. 30 September 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
15. "Liverpool FC statement - Liverpool FC". www.liverpoolfc.com. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
16. 'An absolute shocker' - Simon Hooper's 'monster mistake' against Manchester City | BBC Sport , retrieved 12 December 2023
17. "Manchester City charged by FA for failing to control players after anger towards referee". Sky News. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
18. "Man City hit with FA charge but Erling Haaland to escape further punishment". talkSPORT. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
19. McDonnell, David (5 December 2023). "Guardiola fully backs Man City players in furious referee row despite FA charge". The Mirror. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
20. Victor, Tom (4 December 2023). "Premier League make decision on ref Simon Hooper after costly Man City blunder". The Mirror. Retrieved 12 December 2023.