Officials from Manchester United vs Wolves clash dropped by Premier League after Andre Onana penalty incident
The officials that oversaw Manchester United's controversial 1-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday (August 14) have been dropped for next weekend's fixtures.
According to Sky Sports, referee Simon Hooper, video assistant referee Michael Salisbury and assistant VAR Richard West have not been selected for Premier League fixtures. The trio were part of a scandalous non-penalty call in the game between the Red Devils and Wolves.
Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana clattered into striker Sasa Kalajdzic in the dying embers of the game. VAR looked at the incident but gave no spot-kick. Instead, it was Wolves boss Gary O'Neil who received a yellow card for protesting.
O'Neil revealed after the game that PGMOL boss Jon Moss apologised to him later (via The Mirror):
"I thought he (Hooper) was going over to the screen at first, but, unfortunately, he booked me and not Onana.
"But fair play to Jon Moss afterwards for coming out and apologising. I understand the rules (of sticking with the on field decisions as much as possible), but I don't fully accept it."
Manchester United secured a 1-0 victory through Raphael Varane's second-half header. However, Wolves were not only aggrieved to have not been awarded a penalty but also not to come away with anything from the game.
O'Neil's men were much the better side at Old Trafford and had 23 shots, the most by any visiting side since 2005.
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag doesn't think it was a penalty
Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag doesn't feel it was a penalty despite PGMOL boss Moss admitting otherwise to O'Neil. The Dutch tactician explained his stance following his side's victory (via Eurosport):
“After the opponent touched the ball, he dived in, so it was the judgement of the officials, and, lucky for us, (that it was) no penalty. I think you can debate it, but, I think, (it was a) no penalty.”
Onana got none of the ball as he came rushing out of goal to bat it away. Instead, he nearly ended up punching Kalajdzic in what appeared to be one of the seemingly most non-debatable penalty calls in a while.
Ten Hag may be playing down the non-penalty decision, but his side got away with one on the night. If Wolves had a more potent forward, it could have been a long night to forget for Manchester United at Old Trafford.