Exclusive: Ex-FIFA ref reacts to late Man United penalty incident in Tottenham loss
Keith Hackett has reviewed Pedro Porro's unpunished challenge on Luke Shaw in Man United's Europa League final loss to Tottenham.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the United defender had been "looking" for a foul so the referee was right to ignore the incident.
United were uninspired and insipid as they lost 1-0 to Tottenham in the Europa League final.
Ruben Amorim has been under serious pressure in recent weeks, and his indecision with substitutions, and predictable tactics will do little to help his case.
United created very few chances, and those that they did make either came from hoofing the ball in Harry Maguire's direction or in the dying moments as they packed Tottenham's penalty box with players, looking for an equaliser.
However, there was a suggestion that Shaw could have perhaps earned, if not a penalty, at least a VAR review, after he was brought down on the edge of the box by Porro.
Pedro Porro avoids punishment for tackle on Luke Shaw
With 75 minutes gone and Tottenham leading, Shaw looked to propel his team forward after watching his attacking teammates fail to have any impact.
The England international picked up the ball on the overlap from Alejandro Garnacho and drove past Porro, before the Spaniard brought the former Southampton man down with a sliding challenge that got nowhere near the ball.
| Match stats | Tottenham | Man United |
| Possession | 27% | 73% |
| Shots (on target) | 3 | 16 |
| Expected goals | 1 | 5 |
| Big chances (missed) | 1 (0) | 3 (3) |
| Corners | 4 | 5 |
However, referee Felix Zwayer saw no issue with the challenge, in spite of the former Man City man making no contact with the ball, and awarded a goal kick, even as fans and commentators thought he was pointing to the spot.
There had been some questions as to whether VAR should have gotten involved, given the challenges' proximity to the penalty box and the possibility it could be considered an infringement that continued into the area, but they were quickly dismissed by Hackett.
Keith Hackett reviews footage of Pedro Porro challenge on Luke Shaw
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former PGMOL chief Hackett explained why there was no foul given for the challenge, and why VAR had not intervened.
He said: "Luke Shaw slows down looking for a foul, which is rightly not awarded.
"[It was] not a clear and obvious error by the referee, so handled correctly by the match official."
United will play their last game of the season against Aston Villa on Sunday, before they look to use pre-season to fix the issues that have plagued them this campaign.