Martin Keown has delivered a brutal appraisal of a decision that Nottingham Forest were on the wrong end of against Manchester United. The Reds were beaten 3-2 at Old Trafford after leading 2-0 with just four minutes of the contest played.
The BBC Sport pundit was watching the clash for Live Score. He’s been on the wrong end and right end of positive results at United but he was genuinely stunned by today’s decision.
Forest led thanks to goals from Taiwo Awoniyi and Willy Boly. They were pegged back before the break thanks to Christian Eriksen who halved United’s deficit.
In the second half, Casemiro equalised. Then on 67 minutes, Joe Worrall was sent off for denying Bruno Fernandes an obvious opportunity to score a goal.
The game was decided after a Stuart Attwell call that left Keown seething. Danilo was adjudged to have fetched over Marcus Rashford, despite replays showing that the contact was in fact minimal.
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Keown told BBC Sport: “I wondered whether it’s a moment where you think, “Did they actually see it?”
“I cannot believe that the officials have made that decision and awarded a penalty.
“I look forward to the day where the officials can communicate their decisions to us, and explain their workings out in the VAR room.”
Keown furious that Nottingham Forest fell victim to VAR decision at Old Trafford
Who’d have thought it, eh? United on the right end of a frankly ridiculous VAR decision at Old Trafford. It seems to happen every week and United have benefitted for the second home game running.
Steve Cooper will be livid. It’s not acceptable and something has to be done, starting with Howard Webb holding referees accountable on a more frequent basis.
Forest are improving away from home, however. They were rolled over on several occasions on their travels last season but during 2023/24 they’ve given good accounts at Arsenal and now at Manchester United.
Keown is right. The refereeing in this country is going downhill at a frantic rate and Forest can count themselves extremely unlucky today.