The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMO) chief refereeing officer, Howard Webb, has provided insight into the penalty decisions that did not favor Manchester United during their match against Bournemouth. According to Webb, the primary factor influencing these decisions was the speed at which the attackers were moving.
Manchester United initially took the lead through goals from Bruno Fernandes and an own goal by James Hill, but Bournemouth equalized with goals from Ryan Christie and a late penalty by Eli Junior Kroupi. The penalty decisions were a point of contention, particularly when Amad Diallo's appeal was dismissed after he was held by Adrien Truffert, and later when Harry Maguire was given a straight red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity to Evanilson, resulting in a penalty.
Webb noted that the difference in the attackers' speed was crucial, with Evanilson moving at a significantly faster pace than Diallo. The Match Officials Mic'd Up revealed that assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis did not see the Amad incident as he was focused on the line, and referee Stuart Attwell believed Diallo was waiting for contact. VAR Craig Pawson deemed the contact insufficient for the manner in which Diallo went down but viewed the Maguire foul as a cynical hold. Webb emphasized that both incidents involved pushing actions but differed due to the attackers' speed.
He stated that in Amad's case, he was not moving quickly, and there was some contact, making it a judgment call on the impact. In contrast, Evanilson was moving past Maguire at a completely different pace, and Maguire's desperate push to stop him was a clear foul.
The on-field decision was respected by the VAR and the referee in both cases. Webb added that if the referee had not given a penalty in the Maguire incident, the VAR would have intervened because it was clearly and obviously a penalty.
Manchester United's head coach, Michael Carrick, expressed frustration that only one of the penalties was awarded, describing it as 'crazy' and 'baffling.' Webb explained that the referee must make a judgment on the impact of the contact, and in this case, the referee deemed it insufficient to award a penalty. The VAR considered it a subjective call and did not intervene, supporting the on-field decision.