Match of the Day pundits Danny Murphy and Martin Keown have slammed the decision not to award Newcastle a penalty when Raphael Varane collided with Callum Wilson in the first half of Sunday’s stalemate at Old Trafford.
The Manchester United defender made contact with Wilson early on in the contest, leading to appeals from the travelling players and fans. But referee Craig Pawson promptly waved away the protests, much to the annoyance of the Newcastle players.
Murphy and Keown were both left bemused by the decision. The latter said Pawson “without doubt” should have pointed to the spot.
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Speaking on Match of the Day 2, he said: “Well again, how many times are we going to say about VAR? I know the referee is from behind there, but that is a penalty, without doubt."
Murphy added: "Varane comes across and blocks his path, and Wilson has nowhere to go. That simply has to be a penalty, I can't understand it.
"Worst decision of the weekend, that one. It's an obvious penalty. It would have changed the game.”
That wasn’t to be the only controversial moment in the contest. In the second half, Cristiano Ronaldo stole the ball from Nick Pope’s feet to roll home, claiming Fabian Schar had touched the ball back to the goalkeeper and had therefore taken the free-kick that had been awarded to the visiting side.
Despite furious protests from United players, Pawson refused to allow the goal. Speaking about the incident after the game, Erik ten Hag said: “I don't have a comment, everyone has seen it.”
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe disagreed, responding: “I could see it at the time and, for me, it was clear. Fabi wasn't taking the free-kick, he was allowing Nick to do it.”
On Wilson’s penalty appeal, Howe said the shout was “a very strong one”. He added: “He's caught the lad's calf, and I've seen them given on another day. It's up to the VAR.”
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