Bruno Fernandes was involved in a touchline bust-up with Everton legend Derek Mountfield before inspiring Manchester United’s comeback at Goodison Park – with a late VAR penalty controversy then seeing players clash after the final whistle.
Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte secured a 2-2 draw for United but Everton insisted they should have been awarded a stoppage-time spot-kick when Ashley Young appeared to have his shirt pulled by Matthijs De Ligt and tripped by Harry Maguire.
After pointing to the spot, referee Andrew Madley was told by VAR Matthew Donohue to look at the incident again on the pitch-side monitor and overturned his decision. The Premier League later released a statement revealing VAR only looked at a possible foul from Maguire.
“Did they mention the shirt-pull?” said Everton manager David Moyes. “They only mentioned what they needed to mention. To me the shirt-pull looked enough for it to be given. My feeling is you shouldn’t be pulling jerseys.
“I can’t understand why the referee on-field makes a decision and goes to the screen if it isn’t a clear and obvious error. I thought he made the correct decision at the time and should have stuck with it.
“I think everyone who watches football is looking forward to a referee saying I’m sticking with what I’ve done. From what I saw I didn’t think it was clear and obvious. I didn’t think VAR needed to get involved in it.”
United had fallen behind to first-half goals from Beto and Abdoulaye Doucoure, with Fernandes then clashing with Mountfield at the interval when players returned from the dressing room. Mountfield playfully mimed elbowing United players as they walked onto the pitch, with Fernandes taking exception to the joke and having words with the former centre-back, who had just been inducted as an “Everton Giant”.
Fernandes inspired United’s comeback by scoring from a free-kick before another set-piece saw Ugarte equalise with his first goal for his club, marking a stunning turnaround after being outplayed for 70 minutes.
“We were soft,” admitted United head coach Ruben Amorim. “We just played one half and managed to draw. We didn’t exist in the first half. The free man and space was there for them. At half-time I said no matter the result, we would do what we did in training during the week.
“At half-time I am not worried at that stage, just focused on trying to help my players. Now I am going to be worried when I see the game back and try to prepare the next game.
“I see what players saw and what players see, we lost a lot of balls without any pressure, we had free men and didn’t respect the positioning and then anyone who watches Everton knows they are good [at] second balls – and both goals were second balls. That is why you are disappointed.”
Controversial penalty decision dissected
What happened?
Idrissa Gueye’s injury-time effort is parried in front of goal by United goalkeeper Andre Onana. Ashley Young attacks the ball but goes to ground, with footage showing that his shirt was pulled by Matthijs De Ligt before Harry Maguire makes contact and hauls his former team-mate to the ground. “I thought when he went down, he must have been pulled back or tripped up,” said Moyes. “Only when I saw it on the screen when I came back, I saw the pull on the jersey. Ash has been a forward player for most of his career and part of your job is to get penalties.”
The offence
The VAR communication is heard by broadcasters but not made public. TNT Sport commentator Darren Fletcher suggested that VAR was recommending Madley to look at an offence by De Ligt as part of their process. If that was the case, Everton had two chances of getting a penalty, with De Ligt looking like a shirt-pull and Maguire bringing Young down.
The decision
The Premier League released VAR explanations immediately and confirmed they only looked at Maguire’s possible trip on Young, rather than De Ligt’s involvement. “VAR checked the referee’s call of penalty to Everton for a challenge by Maguire on Young and deemed that no foul had been committed and recommended an on-field review. The referee overturned the original decision and play restarted with a drop ball,” read their statement.
The reaction
The incident not only split the two managers, but divided opinion in the wider football landscape. Amorim disagreed with Moyes, adding: “I think it was a soft touch from what I saw. I think it was a soft penalty, it was clear.” But former United captain Rio Ferdinand was not in agreement with the Portuguese. “I was fearing the worst when VAR got involved,” he said on TNT Sports. “I was surprised it wasn’t given. The contact is there. “When you put your hands on someone you give the referee a decision.”
The reactions did not stop there...
Ally McCoist: “Wow. You know something, I can see why he’s not given it, but I would have given it. I think there’s enough of a tug on him [Young].”
Theo Walcott: “I totally agree with the referee, I don’t think that was a penalty. Naturally [when you are challenged] you don’t fall that way.”
Michael Owen: “I’m a VAR fan but that last-minute penalty was a mess. Maguire wasn’t the culprit yet VAR repeatedly offered the ref one angle and failed to show the shirt-pull from De Ligt.”
Mike Dean: “There is slight contact, the slightest, but he [Young] has put his feet together and the way he fell down does not match the contact – the correct call.”
