Manchester United had their penalty canceled by VAR after the referee pointed to the spot, but were told to award a free kick instead, and then scored.
Referee John Brooks changes the decision from a penalty to a free kick.
Manchester United had a penalty denied by VAR against Fulham at Old Trafford, but they were awarded a free kick instead.
The Red Devils were looking to make it three wins from three under manager Michael Carrick and thought they had a chance to take the lead within 20 minutes when referee John Brooks pointed to the spot. Matheus Cunha went down after a challenge from Jorge Cuenca.
The Fulham defender was penalized for going to the ground, but replays quickly showed that Cuenca had stolen the ball before he could take him to the ground. He and his teammates protested and VAR quickly intervened to investigate the incident.
Officials were then told that Cuenca had not committed a foul in the box, and the team went back and penalized the Fulham star for pulling his shirt, but the attack started from outside the area.
The referee announced inside the stadium: “After review, Fulham 15 committed a holding offense outside the penalty area.The final decision is a free kick for Manchester United.”
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From the resulting free-kick, Bruno Fernandes fired into the box and Casemiro went high to head home, giving the Manchester side an ideal start. Marco Silva was booked for protesting and the team had to turn things around.
Silva is one of the names loosely linked with the Old Trafford job, which will become vacant in the summer. His contract with Fulham is up and he may consider a new challenge. However, a role at United could still be given to Carrick if he continues his excellent start.
Casemiro scores a free kick to put Manchester United ahead.
Before the match, United supporters staged a protest outside the ground targeting the Glazers and Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Two processions, one from the end of the Hotel Football ground and the other from the top of Sir Matt Busby Way, converged at the Trinity statue in Old Trafford’s forecourt.
Although the turnout was not as large as previous protests, thousands of supporters still participated. Carrick was also confident his players, who have been in good form following wins over Manchester City and Liverpool in the past two weeks, will not be affected.
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