- Darren Fletcher launched into a foul-mouted tirade against West Ham’s penalty
- Viewers were surprised to see the referee’s original no-penalty call overturned
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Manchester United coach Darren Fletcher unleashed a sweary rant against the late penalty which saw West Ham sink the Red Devils 2-1 at the London Stadium.
Jarrod Bowen converted the stoppage-time spot-kick which had been controversially awarded after Danny Ings went down following a collision with Matthijs De Ligt.
Referee David Coote overturned his original decision to deny the penalty after consulting the pitchside monitor. VAR had deemed there was ‘sufficient contact on Ings’ lower leg’ to merit a look but the response has been largely negative, with Alan Shearer branding it a ‘terrible decision’.
The defeat on Sunday afternoon means United have won one of their last eight games in all competitions and heaps more pressure on Erik ten Hag.
Fletcher, incensed, summarised United’s view in this way as per The Athletic: ‘One week it’s a high threshold, next week it’s not, f***ing joke.’
Darren Fletcher branded English officiating an ‘f***ing joke’ after West Ham were awarded a late penalty against Manchester United as part of an overturned decision
A collision between Matthijs de Ligt and Danny Ings ended up with West Ham having a penalty
Erik ten Hag has now presided over one win in his last eight as the pressure mounts on him
United thought they had rescued a point when Casemiro equalised in the 81st minute, seven after Crysencio Summerville had pushed West Ham ahead.
But Jarrow Bowen’s 92nd-minute winner sees the Hammers overtake United, who are now withering in 14th with three wins in nine games.
United fans bemoaned the penalty call in the strongest terms on X.
One said: ‘That’s a disgrace. The game is gone, I can’t believe I witnessed this being given as a penalty.’.
Another wrote: ‘HOW IS THAT A PENALTY. This is a disgrace.
‘That is no way in line with decision making in the Premier League this season. This is one of the worst decisions I can remember. In no way is that a clear & obvious penalty decision.’
‘Howard Webb needs to sack this p****!!!! That is a disgrace of a decision. It’s the the most not obvious penalty in history’, a third United fan posted on X.
United have slumped to 14th and are below the Hammers in the Premier League table
Explaining the decision, the Premier League said in a statement: ‘The referee did not award a penalty to West Ham for a challenge by de Ligt on Ings’.
‘The VAR deemed there was sufficient contact on Ings’ lower leg and recommended an on-field review. The referee overturned his original decision and awarded a penalty.’
