PGMO ADMITS MAN UNITED GOAL AGAINST NOTTINGHAM FOREST SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISALLOWED
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Agency Report
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited, PGMO, has admitted that Manchester United’s second goal in Sunday’s Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest should have been ruled out for handball.
The controversial moment occurred during United’s 3-2 victory when forward Bryan Mbeumo appeared to control the ball with his arm before teammate Matheus Cunha converted the rebound into the net.
Referee Michael Salisbury initially awarded the goal before VAR official Matt Donohue advised him to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.
Despite the review, Salisbury upheld his original decision, ruling that the handball was accidental and did not warrant the goal being disallowed.
The decision gave Manchester United a 2-0 lead in a match they eventually won 3-2.
However, the referees’ body later acknowledged that the goal should not have stood.
According to a report by BBC Sport on Monday, PGMO chief Howard Webb contacted Nottingham Forest to explain the officiating error.
Webb reportedly stated 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.”
Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White criticised the decision after the game, insisting the ball clearly struck Mbeumo’s hand.
“From the angle I was standing at, it looked like he caught the ball,” Gibbs-White said.
“Whether he scores or not, for me it was still a handball.”
Former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann also agreed that the goal should have been overturned.
“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 and while he’s not the scorer himself, football’s expectation is for that to be disallowed,” he added.
The incident marked only the 17th occasion in seven Premier League seasons that a referee rejected a VAR recommendation after conducting an on-field review.
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