PGMO's chief refereeing officer, Howard Webb, has shed light on the penalty decisions that went against Manchester United during their match against Bournemouth. According to Webb, the key factor was the speed at which the attackers were moving. Manchester United had taken the lead twice, courtesy of goals from Bruno Fernandes and an own goal by James Hill, but the hosts managed to equalize through Ryan Christie and a late penalty from Eli Junior Kroupi.
Fernandes had scored from the spot after a foul on Matheus Cunha, but a similar appeal by Amad Diallo was dismissed, both on the field and by the VAR, just before the hosts equalized. Later, Harry Maguire was given a straight red card for pulling over Evanilson, resulting in a penalty that Kroupi scored from. The incident has sparked debate, with Webb explaining that the speed of the attackers was a crucial factor in the decisions.
In the case of Amad, he was not moving quickly, and the contact, although present, was deemed not sufficient for a penalty. In contrast, Evanilson was moving at a faster pace when Maguire fouled him, leading to a clear penalty decision.
Webb emphasized that the on-field decisions were respected by the VAR, and the referee's calls stood. However, the incident has left Manchester United's head coach, Michael Carrick, and players like Fernandes frustrated, with Carrick describing the decision not to award the second penalty as 'crazy' and 'baffling'.