Jadon Sancho & Jude Bellingham react to decision to rule out goal against Man City
Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho have both taken to social media to question the decision to rule out the former's first-half goal during Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 Champions League defeat to Manchester City on Tuesday night.
With City 1-0 up, the young midfielder seized upon a mistake by City keeper Ederson, nipping in to take the ball off his toes and letting the Brazilian connect with the bottom of his boot instead, leading to a customary dramatic tumble from the stopper.
It definitely was not a foul, though.
Jude Bellingham has the ball in the back of the net vs. Man City... but the referee says no!
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 6, 2021
The teenager robbed Ederson of the ball, but play was pulled back for a foul. @jjenas8 thinks the hosts got away with one there... ? pic.twitter.com/hYLhvQojxX
However, before Bellingham could roll the ball into the empty net, referee Ovidiu Hategan blew up. This ruled out the opportunity for VAR to intervene and overturn the decision.
His Dortmund teammate Sancho aired his frustration on Twitter, writing: "This ref needs checking!"
After the game Bellingham insisted that it was not a foul, telling BT Sport: "I definitely think I won the ball fairly. It’s a bit frustrating at a time when they’ve got so many cameras and so many TVs watching the game that they don’t wait for me to put it in the net and then check it. It’s football and it’s life, we have to get on with it, really."
This Ref needs checking! ??♂️
— Jadon Sancho (@Sanchooo10) April 6, 2021
The disallowed goal was not the only controversial decision that Hategan made during the game. The official initially awarded a penalty after Rodri went down clutching his face following a 'high boot' from Emre Can. Following a VAR check though, it became clear that Can's boot had barely left the ground, leading to the decision being rescinded.
BT Sport's commentary team revealed during the game that Hategan had not been working with VAR in his domestic league, so that might explain his erratic decisions and the time it took him to change his mind while watching the replay of the penalty incident.
The game itself was an enthralling contest, with City looking nervy at times and Dortmund looking dangerous in transition.
Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring in the first half, finishing off a free-flowing counterattack before Marco Reus grabbed a crucial away goal for the visitors with six minutes left to play. In the dying moments Phil Foden then secured victory for City, placing home Ilkay Gundogan's cutback.