Manchester United’s second goal against Nottingham Forest was controversially allowed to stand and former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has now had his say.
In the final Old Trafford outing of the season, Manchester United beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 with goals from Luke Shaw, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.
Cunha scored his 10th goal of the season to fire United back ahead in the second half, but the goal was only allowed to stand after a lengthy VAR check.
Referee Michael Salisbury was sent to review the build-up to the goal and whether the ball was handled by Mbeumo before it fell to Cunha. Salisbury kept by the decision to allow the goal.
Cunha, Mbeumo and Sesko become second ever PL trio to score 10+ goals in debut season🔥
What an incredible achievement, how many goals should they each be aiming for in 2026/27?
Mark Clattenburg comments on Matheus Cunha handball
United in Focus have spoken exclusively with former referee Mark Clattenburg to get his verdict on the VAR call.
Clattenburg said: “This is another poor decision by the referee team in what has been a poor season for refereeing standards in the Premier League.
“The ball clearly hits the arm of Bryan Mbeumo, and he controlled it with his arm, which was away from his body.
“If the ball does brush the body and onto the hand, the contact was slight and not enough to say that he has played the ball onto his arm.”
Clearly, Clattenburg believes the goal should have been disallowed, which was also the stance of United legend Gary Neville.
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Gary Neville was outraged by VAR decision
On Sky Sports commentary, Neville was confident that Cunha’s goal would be ruled out and when it wasn’t, he made his feelings clear on the decision.
“Honestly, that is ridiculous,” Neville said.
“The VAR has been clear: the player has handballed it. He looked at it for three minutes and the referee has looked at it for another minute.
“I can’t believe what I have seen. That was handball. I don’t know what to say.
“We have to admire referees who stand by their decisions. That wasn’t the time to do it.”
Former Premier League striker Alan Shearer also posted: “Wow. That’s disgraceful. Shocking shocking shocking. That’s a clear hand ball.”
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