Simon Hooper
{{short description|English association football referee (born 1982)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox football official
| name = Simon Hooper
| birth_place = Swindon, England
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1982|5|3}}{{cite web |title=Meet the Referee – Simon Hooper |url=https://www.scfc2.co.uk/meet-the-referee-simon-hooper/ |website=SCFC2.co.uk |access-date=2 April 2019}}
| otheroccupation =
| years1 = ?–2008
| league1 = National League
| role1 = Referee
| years2 = 2008–18
| league2 = The Football League
| role2 = Referee
| years3 = 2018–
| league3 = Premier League
| role3 = Referee
|image=Simon Hooper (cropped).jpg|caption=Hooper in 2024}}
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. He was promoted to the Select Group in 2018.
{{cite web |title=Simon Hooper |url=https://www.premierleague.com/referees/17018/Simon-Hooper/overview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320115523/https://www.premierleague.com/referees/17018/Simon-Hooper/overview |archive-date=20 March 2023 |access-date=1 April 2019 |website=Premier League}}{{cite web|title=Simon Hooper – Matches as referee|url=https://www.worldfootball.net/referee_summary/simon-hooper/1/1/|access-date=2 July 2020|website=WorldFootball.net}}
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.{{Cite web |last=Osborne |first=Chris |date=8 August 2015 |title=Norwich City 1–3 Crystal Palace |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/33744606 |access-date=2 October 2023 |website=BBC Sport}} In that game, he controversially disallowed Cameron Jerome's bicycle kick goal for dangerous play.{{Cite web |date=11 August 2015 |title=Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey slams Simon Hooper for his errors in Norwich City defeat |url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwich-city/20891808.former-premier-league-referee-mark-halsey-slams-simon-hooper-errors-norwich-city-defeat/ |access-date=2 October 2023 |website=Eastern Daily Press}}
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.{{Cite web |last=Easterby |first=Tom |date=25 September 2018 |title=Hooper to referee Foxes clash |url=https://www.nufc.co.uk/news/latest-news/hooper-to-referee-foxes-clash/ |access-date=2 October 2018 |website=Newcastle United FC}}{{Cite web |date=4 October 2018 |title=Hooper: To be at the top is a real honour |url=https://www.premierleague.com/news/863643 |access-date=2 October 2023 |website=Premier League}}
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 injury 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.{{Cite web |title=Andre Onana: Wolves boss Gary O'Neil says PGMOL's Jon Moss apologised after Man Utd goalkeeper's challenge was 'blatant penalty' |url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/12940254/andre-onana-wolves-boss-gary-oneil-says-pgmols-jon-moss-apologised-after-man-utd-goalkeepers-challenge-was-blatant-penalty |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=Sky Sports |language=en}} Hooper and two VAR officials were subsequently dropped from refereeing for the following Premier League weekend fixtures.{{Cite news |last=Whittell |first=Martin Hardy, Ian |date=2023-08-15 |title=Manchester United vs Wolves: Referees behind VAR error stood down |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/manchester-united-vs-wolves-pgmol-boss-apologises-for-var-error-5p8r96rp8 |access-date=2023-08-15 |issn=0140-0460}}{{Cite web |date=2023-08-15 |title=Ref, VAR off Prem duty after Onana penalty error |url=https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/38195447/referee-var-taken-prem-duty-onana-penalty-error |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}
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.{{Cite news |title='Unfair' and 'crazy decisions' anger Klopp in Spurs loss |language=en-GB |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66973987 |access-date=2023-09-30}} Subsequently released VAR audio recordings showed Hooper praising the VAR team in the immediate aftermath of the decision, saying "Well done, boys. Good process."{{Cite news | title=VAR audio released from Liverpool's disallowed goal by Luis Diaz in defeat at Spurs|url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12975648/var-audio-released-from-liverpools-disallowed-goal-by-luis-diaz-in-defeat-at-spurs|access-date=3 October 2023}} After the match, PGMOL released a statement admitting that this was a "significant human error" and that "VAR failed to intervene".{{Cite news |title=PGMOL admit 'significant human error' in Spurs win over Liverpool |language=en-GB |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/66973987 |access-date=2023-09-30}}{{Cite web |date=30 September 2023 |title=PGMOL admits VAR offside error to disallow Diaz goal |url=https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/38529208/pgmol-admits-var-offside-error-disallow-diaz-goal?platform=amp |access-date=1 October 2023 |website=ESPN}} 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."{{Cite web |title=Liverpool FC statement - Liverpool FC |url=https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/liverpool-fc-statement-5 |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=www.liverpoolfc.com |language=en}}
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".{{Citation |title='An absolute shocker' - Simon Hooper's 'monster mistake' against Manchester City {{!}} BBC Sport |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deIP91x67Zw |access-date=2023-12-12 |language=en}} 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".{{Cite web |title=Manchester City charged by FA for failing to control players after anger towards referee |url=https://news.sky.com/story/manchester-city-charged-by-fa-for-failing-to-control-players-after-anger-towards-referee-13023090 |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=Sky News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last= |date=2023-12-04 |title=Man City hit with FA charge but Erling Haaland to escape further punishment |url=https://talksport.com/football/1665664/man-city-fa-charge-erling-haaland-no-further-punishment/ |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=talkSPORT |language=en-gb}} Pep Guardiola accepted the charge but stood by his players, supporting their reactions by saying "it's emotions, it's feelings".{{Cite web |last=McDonnell |first=David |date=2023-12-05 |title=Guardiola fully backs Man City players in furious referee row despite FA charge |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/pep-guardiola-simon-hooper-haaland-31603946 |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=The Mirror |language=en}} The League chose not to suspend Hooper from refereeing, acknowledging his decision as a human error.{{Cite web |last=Victor |first=Tom |date=2023-12-04 |title=Premier League make decision on ref Simon Hooper after costly Man City blunder |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/simon-hooper-referee-decision-mancity-31591799 |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=The Mirror |language=en}}
References
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{{commons category}}
{{Premier League referees}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, Simon}}