Manager and Captain Express Frustration Over Referee Decisions
Michael Carrick, the interim manager of Manchester United, admitted he was “baffled” by the decision not to award a penalty after Amad Diallo was felled in the box during a match against Bournemouth. This frustration was echoed by captain Bruno Fernandes, who expressed his displeasure over the red card given to teammate Harry Maguire for a similar incident.
The match, played on the south coast, saw referee Stuart Attwell make a controversial decision late in the game. After Amad’s protestations, the referee chose not to pause play, despite the apparent foul. Moments later, Maguire pulled down Evanilson in his own penalty area, leading to his dismissal. Bournemouth were then awarded a spot-kick, which Junior Kroupi converted to equalize the score at 2-2.
Manchester United fans were quick to voice their discontent, pointing out the similarities between the two incidents. Both Carrick and Fernandes highlighted the inconsistency in the decisions made by the officials.
“We should have had another penalty,” Carrick said at full-time, referencing the team’s opener where Fernandes scored from the spot. “Obviously, if you get one, you must get the other. It’s pretty much identical for me, two-hand grab. Either way, he’s got one wrong, but to give one and not give the other, I can’t get my head around it, I think it’s crazy.”
“It’s a bit baffling, really,” he added. “Because of that, they score and then it’s chaos after that, really. We should have had another penalty and the game would have been totally different. I can understand that decision (to send off Maguire) but we should have had another penalty and the game would have been different. I thought that was what VAR was for, to clear things up and consistency. It’s two different decisions, so a bit baffling really.”
Despite missing out on the win, United retained third place in the Premier League, four points clear of Aston Villa, who have a game in hand. Carrick remained optimistic, stating, “We could have had more tonight but it’s not the end of the world. We’ll come back stronger after the break.”
Fernandes was in agreement, sharing his disappointment that the team wasn’t returning to Old Trafford with all three points. “We end up conceding a goal, not getting a penalty, and then we get a penalty against that more or less is the same situation as Amad,” he explained. “One is rewarded as a penalty, the other is not. I know it’s difficult for referees to give two decisions of a penalty in the same game for the same team, but what I don’t understand is why VAR doesn’t get involved in that, or the situation with Harry.”
He added: “I think Amad is getting to a point where he is going to shoot, and he gets pushed or pulled, and you can see there is something that gets him out of balance. It’s very frustrating for the small players, and when it’s a bigger player, they end up given (the foul). I do think on Harry’s situation it is a penalty, and on the Amad situation it is a penalty, and that could have changed the game.”
Man United legend Andy Cole, who was on punditry duties for Sky Sports, agreed that his old side had been somewhat hard done by. However, he criticized the lack of grit shown by modern forwards. “I would say in today’s game, it’s a penalty. When we were playing, no chance,” he said as he analyzed Amad’s penalty shout. “It’s very physical in today’s game, we’re going to see Harry Maguire’s penalty in a second, if I was in that position, I would say, well, I’m not going down anyway, so for me, that’s not a penalty. So it is what it is.”
Continuing his line of argument after watching Maguire’s shirt-pull, Cole added: “In my head, I’m saying to myself, ‘Okay, you’re trying to get me off my stride, but I haven’t got time for that – I’m going to finish it off myself.’ It’s so easy to go down now and get a penalty, because you know nine times out of 10 you go down, and you’re going to get one. So why stay on your feet?”
His punditry co-star Jamie Redknapp was slightly more on the fence regarding Amad’s overturning, saying that awarding the penalty in light of the incident in the box would have been “harsh.” “You can see (Adrien) Truffert is being aggressive with him,” Redknapp noted. “He does sort of man-handle him a bit, but I just don’t think it’s enough for it to be a penalty.”
The PGMOL has come under scrutiny this season for perceived differences in referees’ decision-making over similar scenarios, with Tottenham opting to write to the organization’s chief Howard Webb over instances they feel have negatively affected them. Via social media, a statement was released by the organisation in the wake of the decision confirming: “The referee’s call of no penalty for a challenge by Truffert was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed the contact was not sufficient for a foul.”
