Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes Nottingham Forest were rightly denied a penalty in their defeat to Manchester United.
With the scores still level, the ball struck Harry Maguire’s arm from a corner, leading to appeals from the Reds for a penalty to be awarded. Referee Simon Hooper did not point to the spot and VAR opted not to overrule the initial decision due to the congestion of players competing for the cross.
Man United went on to establish a 2-0 lead but may have faced a completely different test at the City Ground, had Forest scored from the spot. Manager Steve Cooper described the incident as a “really, really bad error”, which could have led to a second yellow card for Maguire after an early caution for a foul on Tawio Awoniyi. However, ex-ref Gallagher said the officials had not made the wrong call.
