Arsenal winner vs Man Utd ‘should not have stood’ as PGMOL ‘failed’ | Football | Sport
PGMOL failed Manchester United by allowing Arsenal’s winning goal to stand in Sunday’s eventful Premier League opener, according to referee Mark Clattenburg. Riccardo Calafiori’s first-half tap-in was the difference as the Gunners left Old Trafford with a 1-0 win and three points to start their title challenge.
United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir initially looked to have made a mess of the dangerous corner while under pressure from Arsenal defender William Saliba. However, replays showed that Saliba may have been fortunate to escape punishment for pulling Mason Mount’s shirt and impending Bayindir.
United were the better of the two teams and displayed clear signs of improvement under Ruben Amorim, but their woes in front of goal continued as they suffered another defeat.
Clattenburg believes the Red Devils can feel hard done by, though, claiming PGMOL ignored their own pledge before the season began.
“In real time, I did not see any problem with Arsenal’s goal,” the ex-Premier League official told United In Focus.
“But when you watch it in slow motion, you can see Mason Mount was having his shirt pulled and Bayindir was being impeded while challenging for the ball.
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“PGMOL said they would punish this type of challenge more, but again they failed.”
Just days before the campaign commenced, PGMOL chief Howard Webb explained that referees would be stricter when it came to holding in the penalty area this term.
Following feedback from Premier League captains, players and clubs, officials are supposedly cracking down on grappling during set pieces where a player impacts an opponent’s movement.
After full-time, Ruben Amorim claimed that if what Saliba did at the corner was legal, he would start instructing his players to do the same.
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“If you watch the ball, [the opponent] is allowed to do a lot of things at the corners,” Amorim said.
“We need to do the same. But when you touch that way [block], the goalkeeper needs to [be able to] use his hands to catch the ball, not push players [out of the way].
“He chooses to push players and let the ball pass. But again, it’s the rules. If it’s allowed, we need to do the same thing.”
The incident will no doubt re-emerge as a topic of debate should United fall on the wrong end of controversy again in the coming weeks.
