Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has issued a clear-cut verdict on the controversial VAR call against Joshua Zirkzee in Manchester United’s defeat to Brighton on Saturday.
Erik ten Hag’s men kicked off their Premier League campaign with a 1-0 victory over Fulham at Old Trafford, with Joshua Zirkzee scoring the second-half winner.
Despite making an impact for United on his debut, Zirkzee was forced to settle for a place on the bench in the away trip to the Amex for the Brighton clash.
Former United striker Danny Welbeck fired Brighton into the lead in the first half, with Harry Maguire widely criticised for the opener at the Amex.
However, Erik ten Hag’s side rallied back in the second half after Amad Diallo cancelled out Danny Welbeck’s opener by scoring an equaliser for United.
Zirkzee came off the bench after the break and replaced Mason Mount, with the United summer signing ending up at the centre of controversy.
Gallagher on Zirkzee and VAR call
Alejandro Garnacho appeared to fire Manchester United into the lead in the second half after Bruno Fernandes squared the ball to him on a counterattack.
However, the 20-year-old Spain-born winger’s strike ricocheted off Joshua Zirkzee’s knee on the line and VAR intervened to check for an offside decision.
Zirkzee, who was signed from Bologna this summer, was deemed to be in an offside position and United’s advantage over Brighton quickly disappeared.
Joao Pedro then sealed all three points for Brighton in injury-time after smashing home a close-range header past a helpless Andre Onana.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, Dermot Gallagher said that Zirkzee was “clearly offside” and the United star knew “immediately” what happened based on his reaction.
“It’s unfortunate but [Zirkzee] is sliding in to try and score,” he said.
“There’s no doubt about that as it’s his job and his instinct. He does touch the ball from an offside position.
“It’s clearly offside, it strikes his knee and goes in. His reaction tells you… he knows immediately.
“It hits him before it goes into the net. It would have stood had it struck him after the ball had crossed the line.”
Man Utd boss Ten Hag on VAR call
Erik ten Hag admitted that it was “bad luck” that Alejandro Garnacho was denied by Zirkzee touching the ball before it landed in the back of the net.
“I think there were some very good parts in the game,” he said, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“We had a lot of control in possession, we created good chances, we showed resilience, we came back and then we scored what we thought was a winning goal – so [it was] bad luck that the ball was on the line just before the line,”
“It’s touched by [Joshua] Zirkzee so that’s a pity, you have to take this, it’s a disappointment but I can take a lot of positives from the performance.”
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