Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has dropped his two cents on whether or not Manchester United should have been awarded a penalty against Burnley at Old Trafford.
Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw on Saturday in their Premier League clash, with Vincent Kompany’s men snatching an important point at Old Trafford.
Antony managed to break the deadlock late in the second half for United after pouncing on a slip-up from Burnley midfielder Sander Berge.
However, United’s lead lasted only eight minutes after VAR intervened and deemed that Andre Onana was at fault for a challenge in his own box.
Zeki Amdouni cancelled out Antony’s opener for United from the spot-kick and the Red Devils once again dropped points in the Premier League this season.
The Red Devils are now unable to finish inside the top four and will be without Champions League football for the following campaign.
Erik ten Hag’s men have only four league matches remaining and are sixth in the league table, with United six points behind fifth-place Tottenham.
United’s season will culminate on 25th May with their FA Cup showdown against defending champions Manchester City in the final at Wembley.
Gallagher on Man Utd and penalty call
Manchester United had at least three separation occasions where they were denied a penalty, two of which featured winger Alejandro Garnacho.
One of the incidents that didn’t involve Alejandro Garnacho had Antony’s shot coming off the hand of Vitinho late on in the clash at Old Trafford.
Neither referee John Brooks nor VAR intervened in the aforementioned incident to award a penalty in the dying stages of the match.
Dermot Gallagher admitted that United were “unlucky” when the same decision went against them in the FA Cup semi-tie against Coventry City at Wembley.
However, the former Premier League referee insisted that John Brooks or VAR awarding a penalty for the ball hitting Vitinho’s hand “would’ve been even harsher.”
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, he said: “They were unlucky against Coventry. I said it was harsh on Wan-Bissaka. This would’ve been even harsher.
“The only thing you’d say about Wan-Bissaka is that the ball went a long way and this was even shorter.
“I didn’t think either of them were penalties.”
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Ten Hag on Man Utd’s ‘bad luck’
Speaking after the match, Ten Hag insisted that there is “100 per cent a penalty” in at least one of the decisions that went against United in the draw against Burnley.
“It is bad luck. We are not lucky with the refereeing over the last weeks,” he said, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“So many penalties we’ve conceded. This one was justified but, on the other hand, I’ve seen two or three penalty situations. One is 100 per cent a penalty.
“[Alejandro] Garnacho, I think he was hit and then the last handball is 100 per cent a penalty.
“If it makes a penalty against Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the [FA Cup] semi-final, it makes that a penalty.
“It’s really inconsistent. In the last couple of weeks, we gave penalties away or concede penalties and some were very debatable.”
