Former PL referee gives his opinion on controversial refereeing decisions that cost United two points vs. Bournemouth – report

Manchester United dropped two points in the race for Champions League qualification as they drew 2-2 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium last Friday. The game burst into life in the second half, with all four goals coming after the break. Both sides were awarded a penalty each by referee Stuart Attwell, who also sent off Harry Maguire for denying a goalscoring opportunity. However, there was much more controversy on the night, as Attwell failed to call a foul on Amad Diallo in the Bournemouth box just seconds before the hosts’ first equaliser. To rub salt into the wounds, Bournemouth were later awarded their spot kick for an almost identical incident involving Maguire that resulted in the United defender’s dismissal and ensured a share of the spoils. Attwell widely condemned for decisions Since the fixture, Attwell has come in for widespread criticism from the football world, with the majority of pundits and supporters acknowledging he made a fatal error in giving one decision and not the other. Furthermore, United’s penalty on Matheus Cunha was given for a similar incident, leading to even more confusion as to why Amad’s claims were waved away. As reported by The Mirror, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher had his say on the incidents on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch show, aired today (Monday). Gallagher admits he feels the officials made a mistake by not giving United a second penalty, and Michael Carrick has a right to feel aggrieved about the situation that led to his side dropping two vital points. “I think they are both penalties, if you look at them, they are so similar, so on balance, give both. It is just an unfortunate consequence – the referee (Stuart Attwell) has got the most perfect position, he is looking straight at it and in fairness he waved it away straight away, the ball goes up the other end and the VAR is still looking at it when the ball goes in the net,” he said. Gallagher added the VAR clearly felt Attwell’s error was not “clear and obvious” and believed there was “not enough” of a push on the United forward to overturn the on-field decision. Such an explanation may have been deemed acceptable enough from a United standpoint if the events that unfolded in the later part of the game had been dealt with in the same vein. Maguire sent packing However, Harry Maguire’s similarly clumsy push on Bournemouth forward Evanilson was punished not just by a penalty kick but also a red card, which will now see him miss the visit of Leeds United to Old Trafford in April. Gallagher felt Maguire’s offence was a little different to that of Adrian Truffert’s but doubled down on his assessment that he would have expected Attwell to award either both, or neither, of the fouls. “This one is slightly different. When you see them together, you say either both are penalties or only one of them is a penalty. Whichever way the referee jumps, you expect him to jump the same way twice. He may well think he made a mistake with the first one, and look and think this one is a penalty,” said Gallagher. United are set to file an official complaint to PGMOL over the decisions that could have done more damage than they eventually did over the weekend. Fortunately for Carrick’s men, top four rivals Liverpool and Chelsea both lost their weekend fixtures, leaving United a point up on Arne Slot and Liam Rosenior’s respective sides. Featured image Ryan Pierse via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Conner Botterill Conner Botterill has been with The Peoples Person for three years. A keen match-going red with degrees in Sport and Journalism and Philosophy and Psychology through the Open University. His favourite match attended was the Champions League victory in Paris under one the guidance of one of his idols, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Conner still believes he has a chance of making United’s first team through his 5-a-side career.