PGMOL Admits Man United Goal Against Forest Should Have Been Ruled Out

The Professional Game Match Officials (PGMOL) has admitted Manchester United’s second goal in Sunday’s Premier League win over Nottingham Forest should have been disallowed for handball.

The referees’ body contacted Forest on Monday to confirm a misjudgement by referee Michael Salisbury, who rejected a video assistant referee review to rule out the goal.

The incident began when the ball struck the arm of United forward Bryan Mbeumo before the Cameroon international saw his shot blocked. Team-mate Matheus Cunha reacted quickest, collecting the loose ball and firing past Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels.

Salisbury had been sent to the pitchside monitor by VAR official Matt Donohue to disallow the goal. He judged the handball accidental and upheld his on-field decision, putting United 2-0 ahead in a match they eventually won 3-2.

Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White questioned the call after the final whistle.

“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.”

PGMOL chief Howard Webb later spoke with Forest to explain that while there could be justifiable reasons to judge the contact accidental, the expected decision would have been to disallow the goal.

The Premier League takes a more lenient approach to handball when considering natural movement, but the VAR recommendation should have been accepted.

Former assistant referee Darren Cann agreed with Webb’s assessment.

“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 marked only the 17th time in seven seasons, and the fourth this campaign, that a referee has rejected VAR advice after reviewing the pitchside monitor.

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