Pranav Nair
Manchester United received a dubious penalty against Aston Villa
Manchester United won 3-0 against Aston Villa to make it 17 games unbeaten in all competitions. It was a comfortable affair that saw us draw closer to a top-four finish.
However, it took almost half an hour for us to open the scoring. It came courtesy of a Bruno Fernandes spot-kick after the Portuguese was adjudged to have been fouled in the box.
Villa defender Ezri Konsa was adjudged to have fouled Fernandes, but replays showed that it was in fact the midfielder who had trodden on his opponent. Surprisingly it was given and United opened their account for the night.
It was just one of three dubious calls on the night. While United and Southampton benefited, Tottenham Hotspur were at the receiving end as VAR once again came in for criticism.
According to the Mirror, BBC presenter Dan Walker said on Match of the Day that the Premier League’s match center had confirmed that all three penalty decisions should have been overturned by a VAR check.
Different approach, same mistakes?
This has brought into question once again as to how the technology is being used. Although it has been incorporated into the game, the decisions still depend on how the person judging it perceives it.
So far we can say that there has been a lack of consistency as to how decisions are made, leaving them open for interpretation.
Although we benefited on the night, we would have felt rather incredulous had such a decision gone against us. Given Villa’s dire need for points, one can understand their frustration
Even as technology continues to play a more prominent role, the errors repeated by decision-makers continue to be the talking point. Unless a uniform code is formed, this looks set to continue.
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Mason Greenwood and Paul Pogba were the other scorers as United breezed to within a point of Leicester City in the fourth spot.
With us set to face the Foxes on the final day, it promises to be a grandstand finish to the top four race.
