Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick has criticised the officiating in his side's 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, calling the penalty decisions 'astonishing' and 'baffling'. Referee Stuart Atwell awarded Bournemouth a second-half penalty after Harry Maguire was sent off for a challenge on Evanilson, but had earlier waved away United's appeals for a spot-kick when Amad Diallo went down under contact from Adrien Truffert.
Carrick said: 'We should have had another penalty. Obviously, if you get one, you must get the other. It's pretty much identical for me, two-hand grab. Either way, he's got one wrong, but to give one and not give the other, I can't get my head around it, I think it's crazy.'
Bruno Fernandes, who had opened the scoring from the penalty spot, echoed his manager's frustration. He said: 'One is rewarded as a penalty, the other one not. I know it's difficult for the referee to give two penalties to the same team in one game but I don't understand why VAR doesn't get involved in that situation or with Harry [Maguire] because either one is a penalty and so is the other or none of them are.'
The Premier League Match Centre explained on X that the decision not to award United a penalty was 'checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed the contact was not sufficient for a foul'. Carrick, however, insisted the inconsistency was damaging: 'That's what VAR was for: clean it up and consistency. Surely whatever they think, if one's been given there's enough people to decide that it's the same as the first.'
The draw leaves United in mid-table, with Carrick lamenting the impact of the decision: 'Because of that, they score and then it's chaos after that, really. We should have had another penalty and the game would have been totally different.'
