A PREMIER LEAGUE official has told Match of the Day that there were incorrect decisions made in all three of last night’s fixtures, according to a report on the BBC’s website.
The official confirmed, firstly, that the video assistant referee should not have awarded a penalty to Bruno Fernandes in Manchester United’s 3-0 victory over Aston Villa.
Secondly, he said Everton were incorrectly penalised against Southampton in their 1-1 draw – although James Ward-Prowse missed that disputed penalty.
And finally, he confirmed Spurs should have been awarded a spot-kick following Bournemouth’s Josh King’s push on Harry Kane. That game finished scoreless.
All three decisions caused huge controversy last night, with Tottenham manager, Jose Mourinho, speaking critically of video assistant referee, Michael Oliver, in the aftermath of their 0-0 draw. Oliver had also been the video assistant ref for Spurs’ contentious defeat to Sheffield United last weekend.
After last night’s game Mourinho told Sky Sports: “In the world, everybody knows that is a penalty. And I say everybody, I mean everybody.
“Like Sheffield, the man of the match was not one of the players. The same referee that was the VAR against Sheffield United. But at Sheffield I could blame myself and the players, today I could not do that.”
Meanwhile, Dean Smith, the Aston Villa manager, was also angry after Bruno Fernandes won a penalty even though Villa defender, Ezri Konsa, appeared to have been the aggrieved party rather than the sinner. Fernandes subsequently scored from the spot as United won 3-0.
The Premier League match centre told Match of the Day: “It was the wrong decision. It should have been overturned by VAR but wasn’t and should actually have been a foul on Konsa.” The official also said Kane should have been awarded a penalty and also confirmed Southampton were incorrectly awarded a penalty in their game last night against Everton.
In that incident, Andre Gomes was adjudged to have fouled Ward-Prowse. As it transpired, Ward-Prowse missed the subsequent spot-kick.
“The performance of the referee was like my team, not so good,” said Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti to the BBC after the game.
