Marco Silva has claimed that Manchester United’s penalty in their 3-2 win against Fulham was canceled by VAR for another foul because the initial call by referee John Brooks was “too bad”.
Brooks awarded United a penalty in the first half at Old Trafford after Matheus Cunha went down in the area following a sliding tackle by Jorge Cuenca, but replays showed Fulham’s centre-backs had won the ball.
VAR James Bell overturned the decision and instead awarded Cuenca a free kick for tugging on Cunha’s shirt, allowing Casemiro to open the scoring from Bruno Fernandes’ cross from a set-piece.
Premier League Match Center announced that the decision was overturned because Cuenca’s keeping offense ended before they entered the box, but Silva said he was told Brooks had been penalized for the tackle.
“The communication on the touchline was that there was a penalty given for the tackle,” Silva told Sky Sports.
Silva, who was arrested for protesting the decision, added: “The game started with a horrible, terrible call and penalty by John Brooks. A big, huge mistake.”
“It was the first time in the Premier League that the referee gave a penalty for a tackle and the free kick was given back as a result of VAR (for another foul).
“The call was so bad that they found another foul, like a pull.
“We know why the penalty was given. VAR went in a completely different direction to be able to find something and give us a free kick.”
Sky Sports has contacted PGMO for comment.
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‘Narrow margin’ against Fulham
Fulham also had Samuel Chukwueze’s second-half goal ruled out for offside following a nearly four-minute VAR check.
Silva added: “The main thing with VAR is to fix things and make things right. You should never over-officiate a game or go in a different direction. VAR is there to help referees make the right decisions.”
“Offside goals are due to a (slight) difference. Having a goal disallowed by a (slight) difference is what already happened to us this season. The idea of automated offside is to be faster than before, but sometimes it’s not easy. We have to accept that. We can’t control it.”
“The first game was much more difficult to accept because of the feedback we received. Everyone in the stadium felt that we were given a penalty because of the tackle.”
