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Manchester United’s game against Bournemouth feels like an era ago now, but it shouldn’t distract from a bizarre refereeing performance.
The 2-2 draw was marked by a disastrous display by referee Stuart Attwell, with pretty much every decision going against Man Utd.
The most contentious of them all was the foul on Amad in the box that wasn’t called, with Bournemouth scoring on the opposite end soon after.
Nearly two weeks on from that game, the Premier League have provided further comment on the incident.
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Getty Images Premier League’s latest update on Amad penalty call
The non-call on Amad that day gained so much mileage because a similar foul was given against United in the very same game.
Michael Carrick was incensed after the game and called out the double standards, and the general consensus was that United had been robbed.
Premier League’s latest comments don’t do anything to calm that narrative, as the league has stuck to its guns and sided with the referee and the VAR.
Their latest comment said [via The BBC]: “While Truffert ran a risk, the contact made was not impactful and therefore fell below the high threshold for a foul.”
The comment comes via the league’s Key Match Incident panel, made up of five members. The votes split 3-2 in favour of the referee’s decision.
United escalated this to higher authorities after the game, seeking an explanation, and this is unlikely to soothe them, especially as the same panel ruled the penalty for Bournemouth as correct.
Man Utd must try to take the referee out of the game
Carrick took the necessary and overdue step of calling out the referees after the Bournemouth game, because it’s far too easy to give decisions against United.
Having said that, what United should ultimately strive to be is a team that isn’t affected by these decisions on a knife-edge.
On another day, United would already be out of sight against Bournemouth, and this penalty incident would be a footnote in the game instead of the main talking point.
It will take time to reach that level, but in the meantime, the Premier League is not sparing much effort in telling United that they won’t get the rub of the green.
If it’s a 50-50 decision, there’s a 100% chance it’s going to go against United.
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