The Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) have acknowledged that a mistake was made regarding a goal scored by Manchester United in their Premier League victory over Nottingham Forest.
The Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) have acknowledged that a mistake was made regarding a goal scored by Manchester United in their Premier League victory over Nottingham Forest.
The referees’ organisation contacted Nottingham Forest on Monday to confirm that referee Michael Salisbury had made an incorrect judgement after being asked to review the incident on the pitchside monitor by VAR official Matt Donohue. Although Salisbury was sent to the screen with the recommendation to disallow the goal, he chose to maintain his original decision.
According to PGMO, the expectation was that the goal should have been ruled out, even though there could be arguments supporting the on-field call.
Howard Webb, who leads referees’ operations, also communicated with Nottingham Forest to explain the assessment and clarify that a different outcome would normally be expected.
The situation arose when Manchester United forward Bryan Mbeumo handled the ball before having a shot blocked by a defender. The loose ball then fell to teammate Matheus Cunha, who struck it past Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels to score.
This goal gave Manchester United a 2-1 advantage in a match they ultimately won 3-2.
The VAR system prompted referee Michael Salisbury to review the incident at the pitchside monitor, with the expectation that the goal could be disallowed. However, Salisbury ruled that the handball was accidental and kept his original on-field decision intact.
Following the match, Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White expressed his view that the action should have been considered a handball, saying that the incident looked like a clear touch with the arm regardless of the scoring outcome.
Referees’ chief Howard Webb later explained to Forest that while there were possible justifications for allowing the goal, the more appropriate decision would have been to disallow it.
Former assistant referee Darren Cann also supported this interpretation, stating that although it was positive for the referee to stand by his original call, the broader expectation in football would be for the goal to be ruled out given the way the ball was controlled before the scoring move continued.
The match incident marked only the 17th occasion in seven Premier League seasons and the fourth time in the current season that a referee has chosen not to follow VAR advice after reviewing a pitchside monitor.
