90min
·13 January 2025
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Yahoo sports90min
·13 January 2025
Harry Maguire has admitted VAR may now be a necessity in modern football after he was left incensed to be on the wrong end of a controversial penalty call in Manchester United's victory over Arsenal on Sunday.
Referee Andy Madley pointed to the spot midway through the second half after Kai Havertz went to ground, only for replays of the incident to suggest the Arsenal forward went down under very easily.
VAR will not be in action in the FA Cup until the fifth round, meaning there would be no review of the incident. Maguire was clearly livid and let his frustrations boil over, sparking a frantic brawl involving both sets of players.
Cameras caught a furious Maguire screaming "You cheating scumbag, you cheating s**thouse" as he charged towards Havertz.
With no VAR, the penalty call stood, but Martin Odegaard's effort was ultimately saved by Altay Bayindir, leaving Maguire feeling as though justice had been served.
"At the time when he gave it, my initial instinct was that it will be all right, VAR will turn it over and then I clicked on in my head that VAR could not intervene," the United defender said after the game. "So that's when my head went a little bit.
"[The referee] probably looks back...he knows he got it wrong. That's why we have VAR because in the big moments, we need them correct and it's a tough gig if we don't have help for them."
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