There was an absolute stinker of a penalty decision at the Etihad Stadium tonight.
Manchester City's Raheem Sterling was bearing down on the Shakhtar Donetsk goal before tripping over and the referee showed no hesitation in awarding the penalty.
The England star looked decidedly sheepish as the visiting players around him protested their innocence. Sterling made no appeal for the spot kick.
City were already 1-0 up and looking in total control in the Champions League game as Gabriel Jesus stepped up to turn the penalty home and make it 2-0 to Pep Guardiola's men.
Sterling has been in outstanding form for City all season and reports suggest he is about to sign a long-term contract at the club.
BT Sport summariser Robbie Savage argued: "That is not a dive ... let's get one thing straight that is not a dive. It's poor refereeing. He's kicked the floor, he's gone over. He didn't appeal for it."
The decision has been widely condemned by disbelieving TV viewers on social media.
"Forget the ballon d'or Sterling should win the fallon d'floor award for that penalty," tweeted @halalcertified.
"Shocking decision from the ref there but if Sterling had any decency he would've fessed up to the ref." opined @stuartr1874
Many fans argued that Sterling should have waved away the decision and owned up to the fall. However other fans argued that the incident simply served to highlight the poor quality of the officials, blaming them for making one of the worst decisions we are going to see this season.
Raheem Sterling trips on the turf, unopposed and the referee awards a penalty kick. 😱
