MU accused of 'buying referee decisions' to avoid defeat against Nottingham Forest

Manchester United is accused of gaining advantage from two disputed calls during the 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest, reigniting intense criticism of officiating in the Premier League.

In the final moments at City Ground, Manchester United narrowly escaped defeat after a clear handball by Amad Diallo inside the penalty area. With the score at 2-1 in favor of Nottingham Forest, Ryan Yates’ header struck Amad’s hand after the Ivorian player mistimed his jump while defending.

Forest players and fans reacted angrily, but referee Darren England declined to award a penalty, and VAR did not intervene either. Minutes later, Amad scored the equalizer to make it 2-2, allowing MU to leave with a highly disputed point. Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett commented on social media platform X that it was “a clear handball” and said Manchester United was “very lucky” not to concede a penalty. This decision further fueled public outrage, as it was not the first time Forest suffered injustice in the same match.

Earlier, in the first half, MU took the lead from a contentious corner kick. Casemiro headed in after a cross from Bruno Fernandes, but slow-motion footage showed the ball appeared not to have fully crossed the line before the linesman signaled for a corner. Forest defender Nicolo Savona even cleared the ball right on the line, yet the decision stood.

Former referee Mike Dean argued that the linesman “guessed” rather than clearly saw the ball’s position, while Mark Halsey emphasized: “According to the rules, the entire ball must cross the line to be out of play. Forest have every reason to feel wronged because the opening goal came from that situation.”

Coach Sean Dyche expressed his frustration: “I can’t understand how the assistant referee, positioned over 70 meters away, could be so certain the ball was out. VAR only needed five seconds to check and correct the mistake.”

The 2-2 draw allowed Manchester United to maintain their unbeaten streak but raised doubts about the fairness of refereeing in the Premier League. Will repeated errors like these continue to erode trust in VAR?

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