MANCHESTER: Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville was surprised by referee Michael Salisbury’s decision not to disallow United’s second goal against Nottingham Forest after a VAR review suggested the original decision should have been overturned.
The controversial incident occurred in the 55th minute when Bryan Mbeumo controlled Diogo Dalot’s cross with his right hand before his attempt was blocked and the ball fell to Matheus Cunha to score as United won 3-2 at Old Trafford.
Salisbury asked the VAR, operated by Matthew Donohue, to review the incident on the pitchside monitor, but he upheld the original decision on the grounds that Mbeumo’s handball was accidental.
Neville, who served as a commentator alongside Peter Drury, admitted to being surprised by the decision.
“I think that’s a very bad decision in every respect. It’s ridiculous.
“VAR clearly said the goal should have been disallowed because there was a handball that brought the ball back into play. I couldn’t believe what I saw.
“VAR took three minutes and the referee another minute to review the incident. They over-thought it and it became chaotic,” said Neville.
Salisbury then explained his decision over the stadium microphone.
“After review, the goal decision stood because the handball was unintentional, so the final result was a goal.”
Neville added, however: “We do have to respect referees who have the courage to defend their decisions, but this is not the time.”
United eventually won 3-2 through goals from Luke Shaw, Cunha and Mbeumo, while Forest scored through Morato and Morgan Gibbs-White.
Forest manager Vitor Pereira also disputed the decision and said the team manager no longer understood the true interpretation of the laws of the game.
“For me it was clearly handball, but the referee made a different decision. If this situation had happened when we were still fighting to avoid relegation, it would have been a big problem,” said Pereira.
He also called for a meeting to be held between the manager and the refereeing body to clarify the current interpretation of ‘handball’ and foul play in the penalty box.
In the same match, United captain Bruno Fernandes also equalled the record for most assists in a Premier League season with 20, equalling the achievements of Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.