Manchester United‘s second goal in Sunday’s Premier League win over Nottingham Forest should have been disallowed for handball, Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) has admitted.
The referees’ body contacted Forest on Monday to confirm there had been a misjudgement by referee Michael Salisbury, who rejected a video assistant referee (VAR) review to rule out the goal.
The ball came off the arm of United forward Bryan Mbeumo before the Cameroon international saw a shot blocked by a defender.
Team-mate Matheus Cunha moved on to the loose ball and fired a shot past Forest keeper Matz Sels to score.
Salisbury was sent to the pitchside monitor by the VAR, Matt Donohue, to disallow the goal.
But Salisbury decided the handball was accidental and stuck by his on-field decision of goal.
It put United 2-0 up in a game they went on to win 3-2.
“From the angle I was standing at, it looked like he caught the ball,” Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White said after the game.
“Whether he scores or not, for me it was still a handball.”
Referees’ boss Howard Webb spoke to Forest to explain that while there could be justifiable reasons to judge this was not handball, a better decision, and one that would be expected, is for it to be disallowed.
The Premier League has a more lenient approach to handball, understanding the natural movements of players, but the VAR review should have been accepted.
Webb’s view was shared by former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann.
“While I think that it is commendable to see a referee stick with his original decision, I believe that football’s expectation is Mbeumo controlling the ball, especially when it leads to a goal, outweighs the possible deflection off Mbeumo’s hip,” Cann told BBC Sport.
“Mbeumo does control the ball [with his hand] and while he’s not the scorer himself, football’s expectation is for that to be disallowed.”
It was only the 17th time in seven seasons – and the fourth this season – that a referee has rejected the advice of the VAR at the screen.
