Several fans and pundits believed that Brentford centre-back Nathan Collins should’ve been sent off against Manchester United for his challenge on Bryan Mbeumo – but there’s an explanation as to why he was shown a yellow rather than red card.
Manchester United endured a torrid trip to west London on Saturday lunchtime, adding more pressure and question marks surrounding Ruben Amorim’s future as Red Devils boss.
Bees forward Igor Thiago opened the scoring eight minutes in at the Gtech Community Stadium before doubling his side’s lead with 20 minutes on the clock.
Then, on 71 minutes, United were gifted a lifeline when Brentford centre-back Collins fouled Mbeumo in the penalty area, resulting in a spot kick.
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Referee Craig Pawson brandished a yellow card before the VAR team upheld the decision on review.
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher was on hand to deny United skipper Bruno Fernandes, keeping the scores at 2-1 before Mathias Jensen finished the job by making it 3-1 to Brentford in second-half stoppage time.
But after the match, fans and pundits were confused as to why Collins did not receive his marching order for the challenge, with some claiming that he’d denied a clear goalscoring opportunity by pulling his former teammate back.
One said: “How is that not a sending off? That should be a red card for Nathan Collins, Bryan Mbeumo dragged down by Collins as he goes to get on the end of Matheus Cunha's ball into the box.”
Another added: “Sorry, am I missing something? Collins was the last man. No attempt to play the ball. Pulls Mbeumo back. Denies a clear goal-scoring opportunity. A blatant sending off. The referee did not get ‘everything right’. Shocking decision."
A third claimed: “How was Nathan Collins not sent off? And it’ll be barely mentioned. If it were the other way round, there’d be uproar from everyone for a week.”
However, there is an explanation.
The Premier League posted on X explaining why the Irish defender remained on the pitch.
The post read: “The referee’s call of penalty was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Collins deemed to pulled Mbeumo back. VAR also checked the referee’s call of a yellow card to Collins - and deemed that Mbeumo wasn’t in control of the ball.”
The defeat leaves United 13th in the Premier League, having played six games with a record of two wins, one draw and three defeats.
Meanwhile, Brentford jumped to 11th ahead of the rest of the weekend’s fixtures.
Topics: Premier League, Brentford, Manchester United, VAR
Luke Davies