Keith Hackett exclusive: Man United robbed of penalty after ‘deliberate’ act
Man United deserved to be awarded a penalty early on in their Europa League win over Viktoria Plzen, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that Svetozar Markovic knew what he was doing when he handled the ball while trying to stop an early attack.
Ruben Amorim’s side came from behind to win in Czechia on Thursday night (12 December), after an Andre Onana error gifted the hosts a 1-0 lead just after half-time, putting more scrutiny on their defensive situation.
Two goals from Rasmus Hojlund turned the game in the favour of Man United as they ran out 2-1 winners, to boost their hopes of automatic progression to the last 16 of the competition.
However things could have been simpler for the visitors had they been awarded a penalty early on in that game, which Hackett believes they should have been given.
Keith Hackett reacts to Man United penalty call vs Viktoria Plzen
It was a tough first half for Joshua Zirkzee as he left Amorim frustrated with his performance after giving away possession several times.
However, he could have won a spot kick for his side inside the opening five minutes, after picking up the ball and carrying it to the edge of the Plzen penalty area.
As he then attempted to turn away from Markovic, the defender slipped to the ground and left his arm outstretched in front of him, which the ball then hit right on the edge of the area.
Despite the incident being checked Man United were not awarded a penalty either by the referee or VAR, something Hackett believes was the wrong call.
Giving his verdict on whether the Red Devils should have had a penalty for handball, the former referee told Football Insider:
“The defending team were rather fortunate to not have a penalty kick awarded against them.
“The defender fell to the ground and then deliberately stretched out his arm to make contact with the ball. In my opinion he has committed an offence and VAR should have advised the referee to visit the monitor to review the decision.
“A penalty kick should have been awarded.
“When you fall to the ground invariably you turn your hand face downwards to protect yourself against a fall. That is the instinctive action you take.
This player fell and stretched out his arm knowing what he was doing.”
Victory over Plzen gave Man United a much-needed win over defeats to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest in their last two outings in the Premier League.
In other news, Arsenal have been tipped to sign a current Man United player in the January transfer window.
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