Manchester City were not awarded a first half penalty against Manchester United for a handball against Fred because he was falling to the ground, the Premier League have confirmed.
City, who had fallen 2-0 down after Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial scored for United, wanted a penalty in first half injury time for the incident.
A cross in the area was blocked by a sliding Fred, with replays showing the ball struck the Brazilian on the arm. Referee Anthony Taylor waved away protests from City players and a VAR check confirmed there was no penalty.
Manager Pep Guardiola was seen in animated discussions with fourth official Mike Dean, with the officials surrounded by City players as they left the field for half time.
The Professional Game Match Officials moved to explain the decision in a statement, clarifying that because Fred was falling and his arm was being used to support the body, it was not handball.
Their statement said: "In the 45+2 minute of Manchester City v Manchester United, the ball hit Fred’s arm in the Manchester United penalty area. The on-field decision was no penalty, the VAR checked and confirmed the decision.
"IFAB’s Laws of the Game state that it is not usually an offence if the ball touches a player’s hand/arm when a player falls and the hand/arm is between the body and the ground to support the body, but not extended laterally or vertically away from the body."
City had earlier wanted a penalty against Scott McTominay for handball, but replays showed it hit the midfielder's side. VAR then awarded United a penalty after Bernardo Silva fouled Rashford and the referee had waved play on.
