Exclusive: Ex-FIFA ref baffled by crucial Man United penalty incident v Athletic
Man United’s penalty against Athletic Club left Keith Hackett searching for answers in a hugely decisive moment in the tie.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that he found it “difficult to understand” why it took so long for the referee and VAR to come to an agreement on the penalty decision, and hadn’t penalised it in the first place.
Heading into the Europa League semi-final tie at the Estadio San Mames, all eyes were on a United side desperate to alleviate some of the pressure their dismal league form has brought upon them.
Serious questions are being asked of Ruben Amorim, whilst Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho’s futures at Man United are shrouded in mystery.
However, none of that mattered when Harry Maguire showed off his twinkle-toes, dancing past a defender not once, but twice, before delivering an inch-perfect cross that was flicked on by Manuel Ugarte and then nodded home by Casemiro.
That opening goal set the tone for the rest of the night, with Bruno Fernandes scoring twice in a dominant 3-0 win for the visitors.
But the Portuguese midfielder’s penalty to make it 2-0 in the first half was controversial in a number of different ways.
Rasmus Hojlund pulled down by Daniel Vivian
With United leading and sensing an opportunity to kill off the tie, the Red Devils surged forward applying pressure to the home side.
Following a slip, Garnacho regained his feet and swivelled past Yuri Berchiche, before laying the ball into the path of the overlapping Noussair Mazraoui.
The Moroccan fizzed in a low cross that looked destined to find the feet of Rasmus Hojlund, before the defender was pulled down by Daniel Vivian.
Initially, referee Espen Eskås was uninterested in the challenge, in spite of his proximity to it, but after a delay he was called over to the VAR monitor.
Several more minutes passed before the Norwegian finally decided to award a spot-kick and a red card for Vivian, for denying a near-certain goal without attempting to play the ball, in what will undoubtedly be the most pivotal decision of the tie.
Keith Hackett analyses Man United penalty and Daniel Vivian red card
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider after reviewing the footage of the incident, ex-PGMOL chief Hackett explained why Vivian received a red card, whilst also highlighting the inefficiency of the decision making process, saying:
“I find it difficult to understand why a clear pull-back was not detected by the referee and the immediate award of a penalty kick, it is a holding offence.
“It was good that VAR intervened, and then following a review at the monitor, sent off the defender for the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.
“I cannot understand why it took over five minutes to reach that correct decision.
“The defender made no attempt to play the ball, is the reason for the red card for DOGSO [denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity].”