VAR audio for Scott McTominay's disallowed goal in Fulham v Man Utd

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·15 novembre 2023

VAR audio for Scott McTominay's disallowed goal in Fulham v Man Utd

Highlights

Manchester United had a goal ruled out for offside against Fulham due to Harry Maguire being deemed to interfere with play.
The VAR audio revealed that the decision was made based on Maguire's attempt to play the ball and the impact it had on an opponent.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb praised the teamwork between the match officials and expressed openness to new technologies for more accurate and efficient decisions.

Manchester United were on the wrong end of a controversial VAR call when they played Fulham at the start of November. The Red Devils thought they had taken the lead at Craven Cottage in the first half when Alejandro Garnacho's pass across the box was tapped into the back of the net by Scott McTominay.

However, after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was ruled out for offside. Neither Garnacho or McTominay were penalised; the player deemed to be in an offside position was Harry Maguire. The England defender did not touch the ball but was penalised as it was deemed he was interfering with play.

Vidéos OneFootball

United were incensed at the decision. But, fortunately for them, it did not prove costly as Bruno Fernandes' goal in stoppage-time gave United a 1-0 victory and a vital three points.

VAR audio for Scott McTominay's disallowed goal vs Fulham

Every month, the VAR audio for numerous decisions is released. PGMOL chief Howard Webb and Michael Owen then go through the conversation between the match officials to give fans greater insight as to how they have come to their decision.

The third instalment of "Match Officials: Mic'd Up" was released on Tuesday evening and one of the four incidents covered was McTominay's disallowed goal vs Fulham. View the VAR audio below...

Howard Webb on Scott McTominay's disallowed goal vs Fulham

Webb was happy with the decision and credited the work of assistant VAR, Sian Massey-Ellis. He said, per the Premier League's official website:

"Just being in an offside position in itself isn't an offence - it all depends what you do in that position. If you touch the ball or play the ball, that's an offence interfering with play - that's factual. And when that happens, the referee doesn't need to go to the screen. But you can also commit an offence without touching the ball as an attacker in an offside position - it all depends what you do in that position - and that needs a judgment by the match officials. It depends whether you interfere with an opponent. "What we see Harry Maguire do here is attempt to play a ball that's close to him; he challenges an opponent for the ball and he makes an obvious action by moving towards that defender, [Rodrigo] Muniz, which impacts that defender's ability to play the ball. If you take Maguire out of that situation, Muniz has got a really good opportunity to clear the ball before it [gets through] - but it needs a judgment by the officials. So, the VAR will ask the referee to go to the screen to make that subjective judgement, just like they do in all other subjective areas of the game. That's what we see in this situation. So, a good intervention, and correctly the referee was sent to the screen. "I thought Sian Massey-Ellis was excellent. She flagged up to the VAR, Jarred Gillett, that Maguire had, in her opinion, interfered with Muniz. They worked as a team - we've asked them to do that, we've instructed them to share opinion. We've learnt from recent situations where that maybe hasn't always happened. This was a really good example of some great work by the AVAR. "I understand the frustration [over the length of time for VAR decisions]. Obviously if a situation is really close, it can take a bit of time, using the technologies to come out with the right answer. We're open-minded to all technologies that make us more accurate and make us more efficient. We're doing some testing behind-the-scenes, we'll see how that goes. We're keeping a close eye on other competitions, and we'll take a decision in terms of the best way to go forward with that."

What next for Manchester United

It's been a difficult season for United. The Red Devils were expected to challenge on all fronts this season but, despite spending big on players including Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund, they have flattered to deceive. The start to the campaign was so difficult for United that pressure on Erik ten Hag was starting to mount.

However, while United are still not firing on all cylinders, they have shown improvement in recent times. With four wins out of their last five domestic matches, United are the most in-form side in the Premier League. Their good run of results has seen them climb to sixth in England's top tier and within touching distance of the top four.

With confidence high, United would have wanted the games to keep coming thick and fast. However, due to the international break, they will return to action on November 26 when they travel to Goodison Park to take on Everton. A Champions League game away at Galatasaray follows a few days later, with United needing to win to have any hope of qualifying for the last 16 of the competition.