Brighton boss Graham Potter said referee Peter Bankes and VAR Jarred Gillett should be stronger after being pressurised by Manchester United's players over Lewis Dunk's controversial red card.
Dunk was shown a yellow card by Bankes after he pulled Anthony Elanga back early in the second half at Old Trafford, when the winger had stolen possession and was through on goal.
While Elanga was clear of Dunk the Seagulls had Adam Webster coming across on the cover and that convinced Bankes to only hand out a yellow card initially.
But United's players reacted furiously to the decision, with Bruno Fernandes booked for the scale of his protests. While the home players surrounded Bankes and delayed the taking of the free-kick, Gillett advised the official to check the monitor.
Bankes reversed his decision and dismissed Dunk after reviewing the footage but Potter couldn't understand why the VAR had got involved.
"It was a yellow card live, Webster was there on the cover. It is not clear and obvious. I don’t understand the intervention," he said.
Asked about the pressure from United's players on Bankes, Potter said: "Asking the question you are answering the question. I don’t blame them I am not being critical it is what it is.
"They have to do their bit for the team but you need the referee and VAR to make the calls independently."
Brighton had dominated the first half at Old Trafford and only a brilliant David de Gea save denied them the lead. Cristiano Ronaldo struck early in the second half before Dunk was dismissed minutes later.
The visitors then rode their luck but staged a late really, with Moder hitting the bar and Danny Welbeck heading over an excellent chance, but Fernandes scored with the final action of the game.
“I thought we were the better team in the first half, I was really happy with our performance, the attacks Man United had were from our giveaways but it’s not easy here to control their transitions, they attack big spaces really well," said Potter.
"We don’t start the second half well enough, we got punished with a world-class finish from a world-class player, then a controversial red card and it was about us trying to hang on, we rode our luck in that period.
"We gave ourselves a chance, Jakub hit the bar and Danny had that header. I’m proud of the performance."
