Manchester United are reportedly set to file a formal complaint to Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) chief Howard Webb following the Red Devils’ 2-2 draw against Bournemouth on Friday (20 March).
United led twice through Bruno Fernandes’ penalty and James Hill’s own goal at the Vitality Stadium, but a Ryan Christie strike and Junior Kroupi’s spot-kick meant the spoils were shared on the south coast.
Referee Stuart Attwell was criticised following the match, with United boss Michael Carrick describing the official's decision not to award his side a penalty as “crazy”.
In the moments before Bournemouth’s first goal, Amad appeared to be pulled to the ground by Cherries left-back Adrien Truffert in the 67th minute before the home side broke and scored.
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After a VAR review, the referee’s on-field decision was upheld.
In his post-match interview, Carrick fumed: “For him (Attwell) to give one penalty and not the other… I find it crazy.
“I cannot understand it. Mental. It’s astonishing. One of them must be wrong.
“A big opportunity to go 2-0 up and we get one penalty and not the other. It's exactly the same thing really – a two-handed grab. He's got one wrong, so I don't know which one, but he doesn't give us the second one.”
United later saw a penalty awarded against them when Harry Maguire pulled Evanilson down in the penalty area, which resulted in the England international being sent off, meaning he will miss one match.
Shortly after both penalty incidents, the Premier League explained the reasoning behind the decisions via their Match Centre.
After the Amad incident, a post read: "The referee’s call of no penalty for a challenge by Truffert was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed the contact was not sufficient for a foul."
A separate post then focused on Maguire's sending off.
"The referee’s call of penalty and red card for Maguire for the denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity (DOGSO) was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed to be a holding offence with no attempt to challenge for the ball," read the post.
On Saturday (21 March), the Mail reported that United director of football Jason Wilcox is planning to raise his concerns with PGMOL boss Webb in a formal capacity, as senior officials at the club believe the challenge on Amad was worthy of a penalty.
The Red Devils hierarchy were also unhappy with the officials adding nine minutes of stoppage time and will question where this came from.
United, who sit third in the Premier League after 31 matches, return to action at home against Leeds on 13 April.
Topics: Manchester United, PGMOL, Premier League, Football
Luke Davies