Former England star Wayne Rooney believes that Erling Haaland may have been removed from penalty-taking duties before Manchester City`s FA Cup final match.
During the first half of the final against Crystal Palace, the Norwegian striker, usually City`s primary penalty taker, allowed teammate Omar Marmoush to take a spot-kick. This decision was notable, particularly because Haaland had never scored at Wembley Stadium prior to the game.
The 24-year-old forward has been a prolific goalscorer for City since his move from Borussia Dortmund in 2022. However, before Saturday`s final, he had not managed to score in his four previous appearances at the national stadium. Wembley stands as one of only three stadiums in England where Haaland has played without scoring, alongside Brentford`s Gtech Stadium and Liverpool`s Anfield.
When Bernardo Silva was fouled by Tyrick Mitchell in the penalty area in the 36th minute, presenting a clear penalty chance, Haaland initially picked up the ball. However, he subsequently passed it to Marmoush, whose resulting penalty attempt was weakly struck and saved by Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson. Haaland was also unable to convert the rebound.
This season, City`s number 9 has a record of missing three out of his seven penalties. In contrast, Marmoush had a perfect record from the spot this term, converting all four he took for Eintracht Frankfurt in the first half of the campaign.
Appearing as a pundit on the BBC, Micah Richards questioned Haaland`s decision to hand the penalty to Marmoush. Wayne Rooney offered his perspective, stating: “I don`t think he`s given it away. I think it`s been taken off him before the game, I think it`s been decided (pre-match).”
When fellow pundit Gary Lineker remarked that a player cannot simply override the manager`s decision, Rooney countered: “There`s moments you can. And I think Haaland should have taken the penalty.”
Following the match, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola admitted he had expected Haaland to step up and take the penalty. He commented: “They decided on the pitch. I don`t know. I didn`t speak with them. I thought he [Haaland] would want to take it. These are things for them. That moment for the free kick, for the penalty, it`s the feeling and how they feel. They decided Omar was ready to take it. Henderson made a good save.”
Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson was arguably fortunate to still be on the pitch to face Marmoush`s penalty. The former Manchester United player avoided a red card despite deliberately handling the ball outside his penalty area, preventing a clear scoring opportunity for Haaland.
At halftime, Gary Lineker relayed the VAR explanation for not issuing a red card: “The direction in which Erling Haaland was going made it possible, but not an obvious goal scoring opportunity.” In response, Rooney voiced his demand for the abolition of VAR.
At the time of the penalty incident, Crystal Palace were already leading 1-0 thanks to Eberechi Eze`s goal in the 16th minute. Palace successfully held onto their lead, securing a historic 1-0 victory and their first ever major trophy.
