Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Samuel Luckhurst

Why VAR did not give Manchester United player Fred a penalty vs Man City

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he and the Video Assistant Review have 'different eyes' after it upheld referee Mike Dean's decision to book Fred for simulation in the Manchester derby.

The Manchester United midfielder was booked for a supposed dive in the 42nd minute after he went past the City defender Nicolas Otamendi, yet replays showed Otamendi had made contact with the Brazilian's right boot.

Although broadcasters Sky Sports showed a number of replays of the challenge, there was no clarification by the stadium announcer at Old Trafford whether the VAR had checked Dean's call.

Overseas broadcasters beinSports were told by the Premier League's on-site representative at Old Trafford the penalty was not checked by the VAR due to the 'immediacy of the continuation of play' which resumed with City's free-kick. That was contradicted by those at Stockley Park - where the VAR hub is situated - who claimed the incident had been checked.

Sky Sports communicated at half-time that 'the degree of contact [was] not sufficient enough for Fred to go down and warrant a penalty'. The Professional Game Match Officials Limited group did not release a statement explaining the decision and around 70,000 United supporters inside Old Trafford were left bemused by the lack of communication.

Fred collected his 11th yellow card of the campaign and seventh in the Premier League, but is not in danger of serving a two-match suspension for his accumulation since the cut-off comes after the 31st league game of the campaign. United have played 29.

"Penalty, clear penalty," Solskjaer said. "Yeah [I asked Dean]. They checked it, apparently, so... Well, we've got different eyes."

Fred was one of the standout performers for United in their 2-0 triumph over City and expressed his delight.

"Fantastic game tonight and a big win for us against Manchester City," he said. "We are working hard as a team and moving in the right direction.

"Now is the time for us to remain focused and continue to move forward."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.