Arsene Wenger has waded into the discussion over whether or not Nottingham Forest should have had a penalty at the weekend. The Reds were denied what looked like a pretty clear penalty when Harry Maguire was deemed to have handled in the penalty area.
VAR intervened and after a pretty quick check, they deemed that what Maguire did was fair and within the laws of the game. To be totally honest, the incident merely provided us with more questions than answers when it comes to the handball law.
Forest would go on to lose the game 2-0. Goals from Antony and Diogo Dalot ensured a comfortable win for the Red Devils but had the Reds been given the chance to take the lead from the penalty spot things could have been so much different.
Wenger is a legend of the Premier League era. He’s the only manager since the birth of the division in 1992 to oversee an invincible campaign and that feat looks unlikely to be matched ever again, given the quality in the league these days.
This week he’s been working on BeIn Sports for their Champions League coverage. Ultimately, he told Richard Keys during the broadcast that Forest were denied a penalty kick at the weekend and that Maguire did commit an offence.
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Wenger has waded into Forest discussion
It’s quite telling that almost every expert that gets asked about it, says the same thing. Forest were unlucky not to be awarded the penalty and the game could have been so very different had they been given a penalty and scored it.
Wenger enjoyed a pretty strained relationship with match officials. With that in mind, it’s perhaps no surprise to hear that he’s not convinced the VAR got things completely right at the weekend when it came to the Forest decision.
It was a clear and obvious error though, with Simon Hooper unable to really see the offence. The fact he missed it is understandable but no way in a million years should the people at Stockley Park have missed it and that really is hard to grasp.