Controversy surrounding Dean Henderson dominated the half-time discourse as Crystal Palace met Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
The England goalkeeper was the main protagonist of Saturday’s eventful opening period at Wembley, making a string of fine saves to keep Pep Guardiola’s favourites at bay.
City were initially dominant in the showpiece fixture, but could not find a way past the inspired Henderson, who saved Omar Marmoush’s penalty awarded for Tyrick Mitchell’s foul on Bernardo Silva and also denied Erling Haaland on the follow-up after Eberechi Eze had earlier slotted home from Daniel Munoz’s cross.
However, most City fans will feel that Henderson should never have been on the pitch in the first place to make those stops after avoiding a red card with only 23 minutes on the clock.
The former Manchester United ‘keeper came racing out of his area to try and avert the danger after Josko Gvardiol tried to pick out the run of Haaland with a long pass forward from defence, retreating his feet just back inside the box but then reaching out of it to swipe away the ball.
City demanded action by referee Stuart Attwell and the incident was subject to a VAR review from Jarred Gillett, assisted by Darren Cann.
Why wasn’t Dean Henderson sent off in FA Cup final?
It looked likely that Henderson would receive his marching orders for deliberate handball in a major early blow for Palace and their hopes of winning a first-ever major trophy in their third FA Cup final appearance, only to be handed a surprise reprieve following the VAR review.
Presenting the BBC’s final coverage, Gary Lineker said at half-time that they had been in touch with the VAR team and it was explained that the direction in which Haaland was travelling made it a possible but not obvious goalscoring opportunity, thus sparing Henderson red.
However, many were quick to point out that it seemed that it was only Henderson’s illegal intervention that forced the direction of play away from goal, otherwise Haaland looked likely to tap the ball around the goalkeeper and surely score.
'It's 100% a red card - just get rid of VAR' 😬
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) May 17, 2025
It's fair to say Wayne Rooney wasn't happy with the decision for Dean Henderson to not be sent off.#FACup pic.twitter.com/ocJQirRPuy
General direction of the play is among the key considerations for officials when deciding if an action has denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity, as well as distance between the offence and the goal, likelihood of keeping or gaining control of the ball and location and number of defenders.
The decision not to send off Henderson mystified pundits, with Wayne Rooney saying on the BBC: “It’s a red card. 100 per cent a red card. Haaland's about to knock it around him and he sweeps the ball away. How can they get this wrong?
“Just get rid of VAR. It’s rubbish. It is a red card. Everyone can see it's a red card.”
Micah Richards concurred with Rooney on the BBC coverage, insisting there was “no debate” that Henderson should have been dismissed.
Joleon Lescott went a step further on ITV’s broadcast of the game, calling it “one of the worst decisions” he had ever seen in football.
🗣️ "How they could say this is not denying a goalscoring opportunity is PATHETIC!" - @IanWright0
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) May 17, 2025
💬 "That is one of the worst decisions I've seen in football." - @JoleonLescott
Fair to say our pundits disagree with the Dean Henderson handball decision 😅
#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/D0Zbq0dB01
“Because of the explanation, not because of the decision,” said the former City defender. “To deem that is not a goalscoring opportunity, one of the most prolific goalscorers we’ve seen.”
Ian Wright said: “How can they say this is not denying a goalscoring opportunity? It’s absolutely pathetic. It’s crazy, he’s going to tap that past him and then he’s just going to tap that into the goal.
“Why are they making up these rules and saying it so eloquently? To confuse us? That’s supposed to be a sending off.”
Roy Keane added: “Everyone is confused. Pep’s confused, we all are.”
