Former Premier League referee Peter Walton says the decision to award Real Sociedad a penalty against Manchester United last night was wrong.
The penalty was awarded when Lisandro Martínez blocked a shot inside the area.
The ball hit the defender’s knee before bouncing off his arm.
VAR failed to overturn the referee’s decision and United lost the match 1–0 as a result.
“It was never a penalty,” Walton wrote in The Times.
“The question here is whether it is a deliberate hand. There was a time when the law stated that if the ball deflected from a player’s body part into his hand, it could not be considered deliberate.
“But the law was amended last year so that the referee could judge that the handball was deliberate if that happened. That is what the referee and VAR must have decided happened last night, but I totally disagree with them.
“Lisandro Martínez did not deliberately do it with his hand and it was not a penalty”.
Journalist Henry Winter agreed, saying: “He was looking away and his arms weren’t in an unnatural position for a defender doing this textbook block.
“After all the talk about how Uefa implemented VAR better than PGMOL officials, it was disheartening and a logical challenge to see Italian referee Marco Di Bello point to the spot, and VAR Massimiliano Irrati agree. .
“Adding insult to iniquity, Martínez was booked and then Brais Méndez calmly placed the penalty that beat David de Gea.”
It was to be a crucial decision in a closely contested match that saw little chance at either end.
United had a Cristiano Ronaldo goal disallowed for offside and Jadon Sancho completely missed the ball from close range, leaving United scoreless.
The penalty also represented the first goal Sociedad have scored against United in five attempts.
