Officials correct not to give Amad penalty - panel
The Premier League's Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel has ruled that both the referee and video assistant referee (VAR) were correct not to award a penalty to Manchester United 's Amad Diallo in their draw at Bournemouth last month. Amad went down inside the area after Bournemouth defender Adrien Truffert appeared to place two hands on him. Referee Stuart Attwell waved away the penalty appeals.
The home side immediately broke up the other end of the pitch and scored through Ryan Christie in the 67th minute. It was a key moment, from United potentially taking a 2-0 lead to being pegged back to 1-1 at Vitality Stadium on 20 March. Truffert's challenge was checked and cleared by the VAR, Craig Pawson, who decided there was no clear and obvious error.
The KMI Panel produced a split 3:2 vote against a spot-kick being awarded on the field. It was noted that "whilst Truffert runs a risk, the contact made was not impactful and therefore below the high threshold for a foul". Two panellists said the action was "non-footballing and a penalty should have been awarded".
However, the KMI Panel unanimously supported the non-VAR intervention, stating that it was "in keeping with the high threshold for VAR overturns". 'The referee got it wrong' - pundits disagree on Amad penalty claim United were furious after the game, and indicated they would make a formal complaint to referees' body Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO). The Red Devils' issue was around consistency, with two other penalties awarded in the game for holding offences.
Manager Michael Carrick described the decisions as "baffling", confused that Attwell's decision did not match an earlier spot-kick given to his side for a pull by Alex Jimenez on Matheus Cunha. "So the Cunha one, he gives, the second one on Amad he doesn't, which is, I think, almost identical, really, two hands on someone in the box, and they go over and they're in control of the ball," Carrick said. "Massive moment and I don't understand how you can give one and not the other - it's crazy.