Officials excluded from Premier League fixtures after penalty error in Manchester United win

LONDON – Simon Hooper, Michael Salisbury and Richard West will not officiate Premier League games this weekend after Wolverhampton Wanderers had a penalty appeal turned down in their 1-0 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday.

Wolves were convinced they should have had a penalty in added time, after United goalkeeper Andre Onana clattered into Sasa Kalajdzic while trying to deal with a cross.

“It was just contact between two big guys,” claimed the new Red Devils goalkeeper.

“I was very calm and confident it would not be a penalty.”

Not surprisingly, United manager Erik ten Hag agreed with his Cameroonian custodian, saying: “It is difficult.

“Andre was really brave to come out and the ball was touched before he dived in, so I don’t think he had an influence on the touch from the opponent. You can debate it, but I think no penalty.”

But former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher told Sky Sports: “I feel the referee on the field should get it... Onana crashes into the player and it just has to be given as a penalty. It’s got to be a foul.

“I think the VAR should have overturned it. But I wonder if referees are being told there’s a higher threshold and nobody really knows where that threshold is, because one person’s tolerance level is slightly different from somebody else’s.”

Hooper was the on-field referee and Salisbury and West were tasked with video assistant referee (VAR) duties.

Wolves manager Gary O’Neil said the referees’ failure to award a spot kick had highlighted a grey area in how VAR is used and that referees’ manager Jon Moss had apologised to him for the error.

“Jon Moss said it was a blatant penalty and should have been given – fair play to him, he apologised,” said O’Neil.

“Fair play to Jon for coming out and saying it was a clear and obvious error – he couldn’t believe the on-field referee didn’t give it and can’t believe VAR didn’t intervene.

“It probably made me feel worse, actually, because you know you are right. Live, I was told they didn’t think it was a clear and obvious error.”

Salisbury was also dropped for a round of fixtures in April after Brighton & Hove Albion were denied a penalty in a 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur.

Aside from controversy at Old Trafford, United survived an onslaught from Wolves and escaped with a win, thanks to Raphael Varane’s 76th-minute header from an Aaron Wan-Bissaka cross.

Wolves had seen manager Julen Lopetegui walk out less than a week before the new campaign, but dominated for long spells.

A combination of wasteful finishing and Onana’s brilliance kept the visitors at bay.

Wolves had 23 shots, the second most against United at Old Trafford since data was first collected 20 years ago, which O’Neil said was testament to his side’s confidence to attack.

He said: “In the end, we can’t just focus on that (penalty) decision.

“To come to Old Trafford and have the most shots of any side since 2005 and dominate after just four days of work (in training) is exceptional. The lads deserved more tonight.” 

United clung on to get off to a winning start, in stark contrast to the two defeats that began ten Hag’s reign 12 months ago.

But the manner of the performance raises questions over whether United can pose a serious challenge for their first Premier League title in a decade.

“There is no easy game in the Premier League and definitely not Wolves,” said ten Hag.

“The opposition were dynamic. We had to match that. We had to fight for our points. They’re a tough team. We hope we’ll be better on the ball in the next game.” REUTERS, AFP