Man United vs West Ham ref watch: Three decisions Andrew Kitchen got wrong
Andrew Kitchen was refereeing just his third Premier League game as Man United and West Ham clashed at Old Trafford.
Diogo Dalot rarely receives applause from Man United fans, but his teammates were over the moon when he hit the back of the net just shy of the hour mark on Thursday, 4 December.
Ruben Amorim’s side looked likely to build on their win over Crystal Palace, but the Red Devils were pegged back by a late Soungoutou Magassa goal, sweeping home at the back post.
While Kitchen was spot-on not to award Man United a penalty in the opening minutes, there were some decisions that left supporters scratching their heads at the Theatre of Dreams.
Andrew Kitchen should have sent Aaron Wan-Bissaka off
Already on a yellow card, Aaron Wan-Bissaka went crunching into a challenge on Patrick Dorgu five minutes before time was up, with the referee playing advantage.
Luke Shaw would later go into the referee’s notebook, but after such a late foul on Dorgu, it was a major mistake from Kitchen not to go back and give the former United man his marching orders.
No yellow card for Soungoutou Magassa’s tactical foul
The Red Devils had progressed well up in the pitch early in the second half, with the Hammers under major pressure following a smart sweeping pass from Joshua Zirkzee.
While it was only the 54th minute, Magassa likely thought he’d taken one for the team, bringing Casemiro down in a dangerous area, but he somehow escaped a caution.
The referee was clearly keen to keep his cards in his pocket, but this was an incident that deserved to be punished at Old Trafford.
Bryan Mbeumo avoids a sanction for a blatant dive
Bryan Mbeumo has been in fine form for Man United, but it was the former Brentford man who should have been under heavy criticism after throwing himself to the floor inside the penalty area.
In the 74th minute, with the Hammers pushing for an equaliser, he went down under a challenge from Jean-Clair Todibo, who had kept the winger in his back pocket for most of the game.
All calls were immediately waved away, and after replays showed absolutely no contact between the duo, the Cameroonian was fortunate not to receive a late booking for the third game running.