Sports
Three referees suspended after Wolves penalty controversy at Man United
Simon Hooper, a referee; VAR Micheal Salisbury, and assistant VAR Richard West have been suspended from the list of referees that will officiate this week’s Premier League fixtures.
Their suspension follows a decision involving Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana and two Wolves players during their EPL clash on Monday.
United had gotten a breakthrough in the 76th minute through a Raphael Varane header.
But they could have conceded a late penalty in the dying minutes of the match after a cross into United’s box was missed by Onana who smashed into Sasa Kalajdzic and Craig Dawson with his palm.
Several protests from the Wolves players fell on referee Salisbury’s deaf ears and to the dismay of Wolves players, the referee was not requested by the VAR officials to re-watch the incident even after a lengthy review.
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher slammed the decision and stated that the call was so clear, it should have been made on the pitch by Hooper.
“When you look at the images, I feel the referee on the field should get it,” he told Sky Sports.
“If you see where Simon Hooper is stood and how far Andre Onana comes, he comes a long way and Simon can see it all the way through. Onana crashes into the player and it just has to be given as a penalty. It’s got to be a foul.”