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Manchester United logo
Premier League | Gameweek 1
Aug 14, 2023 at 8pm UK
Old Trafford
Wolves logo

Man Utd
1 - 0
Wolves

Varane (76')
Martinez (17'), Shaw (44')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Lemina (27'), Ait-Nouri (35'), Neto (69'), O'Neil (90+7')

Howard Webb comments on VAR interaction from Manchester United, Wolverhampton Wanderers penalty call

Webb comments on VAR interaction from Man United, Wolves penalty call
© Reuters
Referees' chief Howard Webb comments on the VAR interaction that led to Wolverhampton Wanderers being wrongfully denied a penalty against Manchester United.

Referees chief Howard Webb has suggested that Wolverhampton Wanderers were denied a penalty against Manchester United on August 14 because of 'over-thinking'.

In the final seconds of the Premier League fixture at Old Trafford, United goalkeeper Andre Onana misjudged a cross and clattered into Sasa Kalajdzic, who had Craig Dawson behind him.

Having not made any connection with the ball, it appeared likely that Wolves - who were 1-0 down at the time - would receive a last-gasp chance to equalise at the Theatre of Dreams despite being denied a spot kick by the on-field referee.

However, despite brief deliberation in the VAR room, it was ruled that it was not a clear and obvious error, while Wolves head coach Gary O'Neil was booked for his protests.

Within an hour of the full-time whistle, O'Neil had received an apology, while Wolves were presented with the same courtesy in the days after the match.

Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Gary O'Neil receiving a yellow card on August 14, 2023.© Reuters

On Tuesday night, the first episode of 'Match Officials: Mic'd Up' was broadcast, showing the conversations that took place between referee Simon Hooper and VAR.

Hooper initially said: "No way, that's a collision, we don't give those", with VAR official Michael Salisbury countering that he disagreed with Hooper's view.

Salisbury replied: "You'll want to view this because I think Onana collides into it. He tries to go to the ball and he makes aerial contact with the Wolves player. It's late and it's clumsy in my opinion. Dawson wins the header, but it's late, very late in the aerial challenge.

Instead, Salisbury later went back on his first take, adding: "I think because the Wolves player doesn't head the ball, yeah because Dawson heads it, therefore it's a normal collision as they've both challenged the ball. Check complete."

Howard Webb pictured in March 2016© Reuters

Reacting to the exchange, Webb said: "I think from the outset I want to say that should have led to an intervention by VAR which should have seen a video review being recommended and the referee should have gone to the screen. I'm confident he would have seen the images we've seen and awarded a penalty.

"We see the VAR going through the checking phase while the penalty is not awarded. He starts to go down the road of recommending a review, but then he sort of overthinks it a little bit.

"Sometimes VARs can do that. They're trying to identify what the game would expect in terms of what is and what isn't a clear and obvious error. When he sees these two come together we know that sometimes that can happen and it's not a foul.

"We acknowledged that as an error in the opening week which was of course disappointing. But we'll try going forward to ensure that type of error doesn't happen again."

Wolves have since lost two of their next three top-flight fixtures, leaving the West Midlands outfit in 15th position in the standings after four matches.

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Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Gary O'Neil receiving a yellow card on August 14, 2023.
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