The controversy surrounding Manchester United's recent match against Bournemouth has been addressed by PGMO chief refereeing officer Howard Webb. Webb explains that the disparity in penalty decisions against Man Utd stems from the varying speeds of the attackers involved.

During the match, Man Utd took the lead twice, courtesy of Bruno Fernandes and an own goal by James Hill, but Bournemouth fought back to earn a point with goals from Ryan Christie and a late penalty by Eli Junior Kroupi. Fernandes scored from the spot after a foul on Matheus Cunha, while Amad Diallo's penalty appeal was dismissed, both on-field and by the VAR, when he was held by Adrien Truffert.

This incident occurred just before Bournemouth equalized. Centre-back Harry Maguire received a straight red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity, resulting in a penalty that Kroupi scored from.

According to Match Officials Mic'd Up, assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis missed the Amad incident as he was focused on the line, with referee Stuart Attwell believing the winger was waiting for contact. VAR Craig Pawson deemed the contact insufficient for the way Amad went down but viewed the Maguire foul as a cynical hold across. Webb noted that both incidents involved pushing actions but differed in the speed of the attackers.

In Amad's case, he was not moving quickly, and the contact, although present, was a judgment call on its impact. In contrast, Evanilson was moving past Maguire at a completely different pace when Maguire desperately pushed him over to prevent a scoring opportunity, making it a clear foul. The on-field decision stood in both cases, with the VAR respecting the referee's call. Webb added that if the referee hadn't given a penalty in the Maguire incident, the VAR would have intervened, as it was clearly and obviously a penalty.

Fernandes and head coach Michael Carrick expressed frustration and bafflement at the disparity in penalty decisions, with Carrick stating it was crazy not to award both penalties given their similarity. Webb clarified that the referee must make a judgment on the impact of the contact, and in Amad's case, the referee deemed it insufficient for a penalty. The VAR considered it a subjective call, not clearly wrong, and thus did not overrule the on-field decision.