Vitor Pereira was looking for answers as Nottingham Forest beat Manchester United at Old Trafford following a controversial VAR handball decision.
Vitor Pereira continues to search for answers after handball call against Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira has called for a discussion with the referees to fully understand handball law as he admits he “doesn’t understand the calls”.
This was after Manchester United’s 3-2 victory over the team, which came just after a controversial goal from Matheus Cunha. A clear hand was featured seconds before the Brazilian scored in front of the Stretford End.
The ball bounced up and clearly hit Brian Mbeumo’s arm, but the ball fell at Cunha’s feet before he could score. Celebrations were muted as it was clear to many it was a handball, leading to hopes that the goal might be chalked away.
VAR reported the matter to referee Michael Salisbury, who was sent to the pitchside monitor, but despite replays clearly showing the handball, the referee chose to stick with his original decision, insisting it was an accident. Pereira wondered what handball was and was furious.
Forest told Match of the Day: “In my opinion, the only disappointing thing about the game was that it was decided by a decision, which I don’t agree with.”
read more: Premier League: Gary Neville slams Man United’s VAR controversy as ‘absolute shocker’read more: Manchester United score 5 goals in thriller, Nottingham Forest are in big trouble with VAR – 5 talking points
“I looked at the iPad and looked at the images and I was very calm, but in the end I think we need to have a meeting together to understand when it’s a handball, when it’s a block, when it’s a block in the box. At the moment we don’t know what is possible or impossible and in many cases we don’t understand the decisions. But I have to accept it.”
Luke Shaw opened the scoring in the 5th minute, then Morato equalized with a header. United took a 2-1 lead with a controversial attack before Mbeumo scored the third goal. Morgan Gibbs-White’s goal made for a tense game for the hosts, but they held on.
Brian Mbeumo was acquitted of handball by VAR.
Commentating, Gary Neville claimed the decision was “absolutely shocking in every sense of the word”, as VAR made another controversial decision just a week after the incident involving David Raya in Arsenal’s win over West Ham.
“I think it’s absolutely shocking in every sense of the word. It’s ridiculous,” Neville said. He spoke on Sky Sports. “The VAR result was clear, it was disallowed and they said he handballed the ball back into play.
“I honestly can’t believe what I just saw. VAR looked at it for three minutes and then the referee looked at it for another minute. They’re overthinking it. That’s where they get really confused.”
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