MANCHESTER City fans were no doubt delighted by the 12 goals they scored in their two games last week.

After putting six past ex-Reading goalkeeper, Alex McCarthy, now with Southampton, in the Premier League on Saturday, they did the same again in their Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk.

There was, however, considerable controversy about their third goal last Wednesday evening, leaving the visitors rightly aggrieved and their goalkeeper incredulous after City’s England forward Raheem Sterling was adjudged to have been brought down in the penalty area.

Sterling has been accused of diving on occasions, but this was no dive.

He kicked the ground as he went to kick the ball which made him lose his balance and fall over.

There was clearly no contact by the defender and it triggered off two thoughts in my mind.

Firstly, how did the Hungarian referee come to make such a mistake?

We can only assume he was not in a position to see what actually happened. But is that an excuse?

I remember when Howard Webb visited Reading RA some years ago, he gave the advice: ‘If you don’t see it, don’t give it. Don’t guess’.

Sadly, shortly afterwards he did just that himself when refereeing the Manchester United v Portsmouth Premier League match.

He adjudged the Pompey keeper to have brought down a Manchester forward, but the replay showed the keeper had played the ball quite cleanly.

It shows even the best referees can make mistakes.

My other thought was, shouldn’t Sterling have admitted to the referee the Shakhtar defender had not touched him and it was a self-inflicted fall?

Is that so unthinkable?

Older readers may remember Robbie Fowler, when playing for Liverpool, going down when challenged by the goalkeeper in an almost identical way as Sterling last week.

Fowler got up wagging his finger at the referee who had pointed to the spot. ‘He never touched me,’ Fowler cried, asking the referee to reverse his decision.

There is on Youtube a series of such players’ confessions.

A pity it is so small.