Arsenal fans are furious that they were not awarded a penalty by VAR last night, after Harry Maguire dragged down Takehiro Tomiyasu in the box.
What’s the story?
When Arsenal had a well placed free-kick Tomiyasu appeared to have broken clear of his marker.
But Maguire, rather literally, took matters into his own hands.
The United central defender dragged down the Arsenal man just as he entered the box, which meant that he couldn’t get on the end of the cross.
The incident wasn’t flagged up by VAR and play continued.
But Arsenal fans were furious that they weren’t given a spot kick for Maguire’s apparent indiscretion.
Harsh on Arsenal?
In the end, Arsenal’s failure to be awarded a penalty proved to be decisive.
United ran out 3-2 winners, and they were given a spot-kick by the VAR officials.
Arsenal could have little complaints over the awarding of the foul, as Martin Odegaard lunged into a reckless challenge.
But these are the inconsistencies which so often rile supporters with VAR.
The officials are likely to argue that the incident didn’t meet the criteria needed to be clear and obvious.
But the foul would surely have been awarded had it taken place anywhere else on the pitch, or if Martin Atkinson had spotted it in real time.
Arsenal’s defeat means that they stay in fifth place in the Premier League table, one point away from the top four.
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