Ole Gunnar Solskjaer bemoans refereeing decisions vs Sheffield United after delegate report
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has expressed his disappointment after the Premier League delegate’s report from the Sheffield United game confirmed poor refereeing decisions.
The Red Devils saw their 13-match unbeaten league run end against the Blades last week after they suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford.
The match saw a couple of contentious decisions which went against the Red Devils and the mistakes have been acknowledged in the report presented by the delegate.
Kean Byran found the back of the net for the Blades in the 23rd minute last week and the goal was awarded despite the fact that Billy Sharp fouled goalkeeper David de Gea in the lead-up.
Meanwhile, Anthony Martial was denied the equaliser before the half-time interval after Harry Maguire was adjudged to have pushed Blades keeper Aaron Ramsdale where there appeared little to no contact.
The decisions were proved incorrect in the report presented by the delegate and Solskjaer has expressed his frustration stating that United could have had the momentum on their side, if the errors were avoided.
“I don’t like to bring these up – the momentum shifted for us with the Sheffield United game – but I’ve got the delegates’ report from the ref and the two decisions were wrong,” he said in a press conference via The Independent.
“They’ve admitted their goal should have been disallowed and our goal should have stood. That’s a big, big momentum changer for us. You’re more likely to, when you go 1-0 up rather than 1-0 down, go on and win that game. So that’s fine margins and it has been the way this season, fine margins.“
Red Rants view:
United could have found themselves 1-0 ahead against the Blades if the decisions in the first half went their way. Instead, they trailed by the solitary goal and ended up losing the game by a 2-1 scoreline.
Just a week prior to the game, arch-rivals Manchester City were rather fortuitous as two refereeing decisions against Aston Villa went their way.
Rodri was in an offside position when Tyrone Mings made contact with the ball and the Spaniard intercepted from behind before Bernardo Silva scored.
The VAR deemed the goal valid due to a loophole in the offside rules, but that was quickly rectified by the International Football Association Board following the game.
Elsewhere, the Cityzens were handed a penalty for a handball from Mat Cash. A similar incident involving Cash happened against Southampton last week where the decision went in his favour.
The inconsistency in the refereeing decisions have come at a cost for United of late. Instead of potentially being at the top of the standings, they find themselves three points behind the Cityzens, who have a game in hand.
Still, that can’t be highlighted as the main reason behind the recent loss to Sheffield, given the overall performance of the entire team on the night was not up to the mark.
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