Fans convinced Copenhagen's Denis Vavro should have been sent off for elbow on Rasmus Hojlund

Fans believe Copenhagen defender Denis Vavro was lucky to escape a red card after he appeared to elbow Rasmus Hojlund during Wednesday night's Champions League clash at the Parken.

It was another evening full of controversial refereeing decisions. United forward Marcus Rashford was handed a straight red card in the 42nd minute after he caught right-back Elias Jelert with a studs-up challenge.

Copenhagen took advantage of their numerical edge soon after, as goals from Mohamed Elyounoussi, Diogo Goncalves, Lukas Lerager and Roony Bardghji sealed a historic 4-3 win for the Danish outfit.

United, meanwhile, will feel hard done by after making such a promising start to the Group A clash.

In fact, some supporters believe the home side should have been reduced to 10-men after Slovakia international Denis Vavro made contact with goalscorer Rasmus Hojlund. Check out the incident in full below:

Vavro, who was already on a yellow after receiving a first-half booking by referee Donatas Rumsas, appeared to strike Hojlund in the face.

VAR did not intervene, which in turn sparked plenty of outrage on social media.

One fan said: "There is absolutely no reason for his elbow to move towards Hojlund other than to hurt him. He doesn’t jump, he doesn’t use it for leverage, it’s simply to hurt him. Already on a yellow…yet VAR just chooses to move on? It’s so ridiculously infuriating."

A second wrote: "I remember seeing this and screaming for a red. No VAR check. Nothing. I’m sick of it man," while a third commented: "How are we supposed to compete if we are being treated like this on a weekly basis?"

A fourth added: "It's only 1 of 2 things. Either he's intentionally trying to hit the ball with the arm, which is a deliberate handball and therefore a red card; or he's intentionally trying to hit Hojlund in the head, which is violent conduct and therefore a red card."

Speaking to TNT Sports after the full-time whistle, Erik ten Hag gave his take on the refereeing decisions during Wednesday night's clash.

When asked for his thoughts on the game, he said: "Do you have one hour? I think first we played very good until the red card. The red card changed everything. Then it becomes a different game.

"We concede two goals that shouldn't count. It is disappointing.

"Not only tonight. We have to deal with many decisions against us in other games. That's how it is. But the season is long. At one point it will turn in our favour.

"It is harsh decision. He was going for the ball. The review was over, then he went up to the screen. I think the referee was not sure."

Ten Hag added: "After half-time it was better but the two goals should not count. The first is offside, there is a player in front of Onana. The second, what can you do about that?

"I saw lots of positives, but in the end we lose some focus. It's hard when you play so long with 10 men.

"That was the best 20 minutes I saw from my side. Also with 10 we were still controlling the game. It's very disappointing. We fought so hard, played so good. Still we don't have one point."

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.