Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has defended the VAR decision that led to Manchester United's opening goal against Fulham, despite furious protests from Fulham manager Marco Silva. The incident occurred during Sunday's 3-2 win for United at Old Trafford, with referee John Brooks initially awarding a penalty for a tackle by Jorge Cuenca on Matheus Cunha.
Replays showed Cuenca won the ball cleanly, but VAR intervened. Rather than overturning the penalty entirely, the video assistant recommended a free-kick on the touchline for a shirt pull by Cuenca on Cunha that happened outside the area. Casemiro headed home from the resulting free-kick to open the scoring.
Speaking on Sky Sports' Ref Watch, Gallagher said: 'Straight away, I knew it wasn't a penalty. The trajectory of the ball told me everything. There's no doubt he lets go of the shirt before they enter the penalty area. It's factually outside, so they gave a free-kick.'
Former midfielder Jamie O'Hara disagreed, calling the decision 'a mess'. He argued: 'The referee blows up for the tackle, not for the shirt pull. They decide it's not a penalty, so then it should be a drop ball for Fulham, but they go back to try and get themselves out of jail.'
Silva was furious after the match, saying: 'The penalty was given for the tackle of Cuenca, that was clear. Then after they found the pull three, four seconds before. It's the first time this season that a penalty has been given for one incident and then a VAR decision comes from a completely different incident and gave a free-kick.'
