The football world, minus Manchester United fans, got behind Nottingham Forest on Sunday after a ridiculous call from referee Michael Salisbury.
Shortly after Forest equalised through Morato, Matheus Cunha had the ball in the net, but he tempered his celebrations as he sensed that Bryan Mbeumo had handled the ball.
😤How on earth has Manchester United’s second goal stood against Nottingham Forest?!
A complete and utter disgrace!
The VAR Matthew Donohue agreed with United’s reservations that Mbeumo had gained an unfair advantage by using his hand, but after a closer look, Michael Salisbury stuck with his decision, deeming the offence to be accidental.
Former professional Mark Schwarzer slammed the call, whilst Gary Neville even cited that he was stunned it was given, and he supports Manchester United!
Frankly, enough is enough and now, Forest have a golden opportunity to lead the charge against the big six clubs in the Premier League, constantly getting their way.
Howard Webb apology won’t wash with Evangelos Marinakis
There is absolutely no way that Forest won’t be receiving another Premier League-headed piece of paper with a grovelling apology on from the powers that be.
Frankly, Salisbury has tried to be clever and has been serenaded by a loophole which seems awfully convenient, given that this game occurred in Sir Alex Ferguson’s old playground, Old Trafford.
Accidental handball was added to the law to basically imply that if a ball flicked off another body part and accidentally brushed the arm, a foul wasn’t given.
Players aren’t permitted to gain an advantage by using their arm, and that’s exactly what Bryan Mbeumo did by trapping the ball between his hip and his arm.
Vitor Pereira was very level-headed about the incident and perhaps he might not have been had there been more riding on the game from a Forest perspective.
That isn’t the point, though and Forest now have a chance to lead the charge towards change when it comes to the standard of referees in England.
Forest can lead call for change
Marinakis is never backwards in coming forwards and now might be the time for the Forest hierarchy to sit down with at least 14 other Premier League clubs and call for a vote of no confidence in the PGMOL.
United fans can preach all they want that they, too, have been on the wrong end of decisions this season and that much is true.
However, this is now four separate incidents that Forest have been left frustrated with in games against Manchester United, and there is a sense that some of the smaller clubs get refereed differently against the top clubs.
Salisbury was given all the evidence he needed yesterday to try and get the right decision, with VAR Matthew Donohue doing a superb job to lead the on-field referee.
It seems awfully coincidental that Salisbury chose Old Trafford as the place to stick with his original decision, given that overturning it would have meant 80,000 upset home supporters firmly on his case for the next 30 minutes.
If VAR officials aren’t going to be listened to when they’re dead right, then is it finally time to end the debacle that is VAR and go back to referees refereeing and assistant referees doing what they’re paid to do and giving offsides?
😡Nottingham Forest have been robbed by VAR at Old Trafford. AGAIN!
Why are we not getting any luck with VAR again!
This decision could intensify the need to sack VAR into the bin for good, and much like in Sweden, some Premier League clubs could start to take action.
The Swedes voted against VAR being used in their domestic division and to this day, they’ve never had it in use, making the fan experience much better than the monstrosity that we put up with in England.
Premier League clubs constantly vote for VAR, but now this decision could be the straw that breaks the back of a number of clubs, with Forest surely considering their actions once again!
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