Former referee Mark Halsey has claimed that Manchester United were saved by 'wrong' footage being shown to referee Andrew Madley against Everton.
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Everton denied late pen in 2-2 draw with Man UtdFormer ref claims Madley's on-field call should have stoodAlso blames VAR for showing Madley 'wrong' footageFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱AFPWHAT HAPPENED?
Everton were denied a late penalty by VAR in their 2-2 draw with Manchester United after Ashley Young was pulled down in the Red Devils' box by Matthijs De Ligt. Referee Madley gave the Toffees a spot-kick but was called back to review the footage by VAR and decided to overturn the decision as the contact by De Ligt was deemed light.
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Halsey, a former Premier League referee between 1999 and 2013, has now told The Sun that during Madley's on-field review, the referee was shown the wrong footage of the incident. Additionally, the former official also claimed that Madley's original decision should not have been contested by VAR as there was no clear and obvious error in the on-field call.
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Speaking to The Sun, Halsey said: "The decision to overturn a penalty awarded to Everton near the end of their 2-2 draw with Manchester United was clearly wrong. VAR Matt Donohue should NOT have got involved because referee Andy Madley’s on-field call was in no way a clear and obvious error. Ashley Young’s shirt was pulled – and when an opponent does that in the penalty area he is asking for trouble.
"When Madley went to the monitor on the advice of VAR he was then shown the wrong footage. The Premier League Match Centre posted on social media that Harry Maguire’s challenge on Young had been checked and that no foul had been committed. But they failed to take into account that Matthijs de Ligt had pulled Young back by the shirt.
"And had Madley been shown footage filmed from behind the goal he would have seen this. The incident was embarrassing."
WHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD?
Ruben Amorim's side's struggles have continued as they went down two goals against Everton before mounting up a comeback for the 2-2 draw. However, the Red Devils need a win when they take on their potential fellow relegation battlers Ipswich Town on Wednesday, February 27.