MU fans have a reason to be resentful after the home team’s 0-2 defeat to Tottenham in the second round of the 2023/24 Premier League.
In the 26th minute, when the score at Tottenham Hotspur was 0-0, MU organized a right-wing attack with Marcus Rashford’s down phase. The English striker then moved into the middle and passed it to Alejandro Garnacho, who was very open on the left wing.
The young Argentine star led the ball a few times before correcting his heart with his right foot in the penalty area. The ball touched center-back Cristian Romero’s hand and went all the way across the border. Immediately, MU players demanded a penalty from the referee.
After consulting VAR, the referee decided not to give MU 11 meters. This has caused outrage on social media. The majority of Red Devils fans confirmed that it was 100% a penalty for MU, and their team was unfairly judged by the referee.
On Sky Sports, former player Gary Neville stated: “Both of his arms (Romero) are raised. It’s just whether Romero’s right arm is close enough to his body.”
Sportbible has quoted a few fans. One commented: “I don’t like MU either but I think it’s 100% a penalty.” The second person asked: “Why is that phase not 11 meters?” The third person had mixed opinions: “After last week’s situation (against Wolves), I don’t think it was a penalty.”
The current law on handballs states: “It is an offense for a player to touch the ball with his hand or arm when it causes his or her body to become abnormally large. A player is deemed to have made his or her muscles larger. their bodies are abnormally larger, when the position of their hand/arm is not a result of the player’s body movement in that particular situation”.
Penalty or not, but MU played a lackluster match against Tottenham. The fact that the Red Devils had to concede 2 goals in the second half reflects exactly what happened on the field, and Tottenham deserved to win 3 points in this competition. MU can only blame themselves for playing poorly and not being able to take advantage of opportunities.
