‘VARsenal’ – fans fume as referee falls under scrutiny in Arsenal vs Man Utd

Arvin Amin

3 years ago

Manchester United's Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes (R) appeals to English referee Craig Pawson (C) after he grants Arsenal a penalty during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in London on April 23, 2022. - - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by Ian Kington / IKIMAGES / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by IAN KINGTON/IKIMAGES/AFP via Getty Images)

Manchester United’s hopes of sealing a place in next season’s Champions League are all but finished after their latest defeat, this time at the hands of Arsenal, who climbed up to fourth following the win.

Ralf Rangnick welcomed Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane and Scott McTominay back to the side but the trio couldn’t stop United’s freefall despite an encouraging second half.

There were a host of questionable decisions from referee Craig Pawson in the lunchtime kick-off, with United feeling they should have been awarded three penalties.

The most puzzling one, in the first half, was Cedric Soares’ blatant handball to deny Jadon Sancho a goalscoring opportunity but Pawson waved on and there was no guidance from the VAR.

Arsenal’s penalty was arguably a foul on Telles and not the other way around, whilst their third goal should’ve been disallowed for offside on Eddie Nketiah, who was obscuring David de Gea’s line of vision.

Pawson’s inconsistent refereeing left fans on social media fuming, with several venting their frustrations on Twitter, as seen below.

Manchester United’s hopes of sealing a place in next season’s Champions League are all but finished after their latest defeat, this time at the hands of Arsenal, who climbed up to fourth following the win.

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