Manchester United edged past Wolves 1-0 in their Premier League match on Monday night, but the game was marred by controversy over a penalty decision.
Late in stoppage time, Manchester United’s debutant goalkeeper Andre Onana collided with Wolves’ Sasa Kalajdzic in the box, but referee Simon Hooper did not award a penalty. The incident was also reviewed by VAR Michael Salisbury, who deemed no clear and obvious error had been made.
This left Wolves manager Gary O’Neil furious, and he revealed after the match that PGMOL’s Jon Moss had personally apologized and admitted it was a “blatant penalty” that should have been given.
Moss acknowledged it was a clear and obvious error and that he couldn’t believe neither the on-field referee nor VAR awarded the penalty.
As a result of the mistake, referee Simon Hooper, VAR Michael Salisbury, and assistant VAR Richard West have all been stood down from officiating the next round of Premier League matches.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 15, 2023
The officials for last night’s game between Man Utd and Wolves have been dropped for next weekend.
Referee Simon Hooper, video assistant ref Michael Sailsbury and assistant VAR Richard West have not been selected for a Premier League game. ❌ pic.twitter.com/0eY8WmNg3h
O’Neil said he wasn’t surprised the decision went against his team, but maintained it was clearly a foul that should have been penalized.
Onana denied there was any foul, saying it was just contact between two big guys, and was confident the penalty wouldn’t be given.
The decision proved pivotal, as Wolves were on top for much of the match and a late penalty could have earned them a well-deserved equalizer against Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United.
