Glenn Hoddle fumes at handball decision as Sporting complete turnaround against Bodo/Glimt in UEFA Champions League - 'The game has gone'

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Glenn Hoddle said that the "game has gone" after Sporting equalised against Bodo/Glimt from the penalty spot following a contentious handball decision in their UEFA Champions League tie. The Norwegian side led 3-0 following the last 16 first leg, but were pegged back to 3-3 in Lisbon, with Luis Suarez's penalty drawing the Portuguese side level, before the hosts stormed to victory in extra-time.

Sporting complete comeback with controversial penalty - 'That annoys me'

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Glenn Hoddle declared that "the game has gone" after a contentious penalty helped to complete Sporting's remarkable comeback against Bodo/Glimt in the UEFA Champions League.

The Norwegian side held a 3-0 lead following the first leg of the last 16 tie, but suffered a defeat by the same scoreline after 90 minutes in Lisbon, taking the contest into extra-time.

Sporting then sealed their spot in the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite competition for the first time, with goals from Maximiliano Araujo and Rafael Nel book-ending the extra 30 minutes.

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But their equaliser on Tuesday came controversially, with Luis Suarez converting from the spot after Fredrik Andre Bjorkan was penalised for a handball inside the area.

Following Ivan Fresneda’s cross from a matter of metres away, the ball deflected off the left back’s stomach and onto his arm.

After a check of the pitchside monitor, referee Sandro Scharer pointed to the spot.

Luis Suarez converted his crucial penalty against Bodo/Glimt

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Hoddle felt the decision was incredibly harsh, particularly given the short distance between Bjorkan and Fresneda when the Sporting man delivered the cross.

"It did hit his hand, but it's come off his stomach onto his hand," Hoddle said during the VAR check.

"The vicinity of where the cross has come from, if we’re giving penalties for this, then the game has gone."

On the suggestion that referees rule differently on the continent, he added: "Do we play with a different-sized ball in Europe? The goals are different, are they?

"Because it hits his arm, it doesn’t mean it's a penalty always. Just flick a ball up against someone’s hand and then claim for a penalty, that's how it's going to go."

As the referee awarded the penalty, the former midfielder said: "That annoys me. For the sake of football, that is not a penalty. It's come off his stomach first, deflected onto his hand.

"If that's in the Premier League, it's not given, 100%. If that's a penalty, then we should all pack it in."

Hoddle later added: "I just don't understand handball anymore, nobody does, I don’t think."

Sporting score FOURTH to overturn three-goal deficit on 'special' night

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Bodo had penalty appeals of their own in extra-time, with the ball appearing to strike the arm of Sporting captain Morten Hjulmand after deflecting down from his chest.

However, after a handball was not called initially, the referee was not sent to the monitor on this occasion, with the video assistant referee happy for play to continue without any further action.

Hoddle said this incident was "no different" to the one that earned Sporting a penalty, insisting the referee should have checked this one for there to be consistency with the officiating.

"It's hit his chest, gone down and hit his arm," he said. "I don't get it. It's got to be looked at. I don't get it. That's not right, it really isn't, that's not correct."

Nevertheless, it was a thoroughly deserved victory for the Portuguese side, who managed 38 shots across the 120 minutes, with 14 of those on target.

Rui Borges' men opened the scoring in the first half, with Goncalo Inacio guiding an excellent header home from a corner.

'Game on!' - Sporting restore hope of comeback against Bodo/Glimt

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They then doubled their lead on the night, just after the hour mark, as Pedro Goncalves inished from close range after a squared ball from Suarez.

Suarez, brought in to replace Viktor Gyokeres in the summer, then drew his side level in the 78th minute, with his penalty taking him to five goals in the Champions League this season, and 32 for the campaign in all competitions.

Bodo survived the remainder of normal time, but Sporting did not need much of the extra 30 minutes to complete the turnaround, with Araujo producing a clever finish from inside the area to score the earliest-ever goal in extra-time in Champions League history.

The victory was wrapped up in stoppage-time, with 20-year-old Nel rifling home at the near post after being fed into the left of the box.

It had been a remarkable run for Bodo, beating Manchester City and Atlético Madrid in their final two league phase fixtures to qualify for the knockout phase play-offs.

Kjetil Knutsen’s side then brushed aside Inter to reach the last 16, beating last season’s finalists in both legs to claim a 5-2 aggregate victory.

Their dream run looked set to continue after a 3-0 win over Sporting in Norway last week, but they had their hearts broken on Tuesday as they were overpowered in Portugal’s capital.

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