Manchester United were left furious after what they described as “astonishing” and “baffling” refereeing decisions in a dramatic 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, where two penalties were awarded and one was not.
Harry Maguire’s return to the spotlight — following his England recall — was overshadowed when he was sent off at the Vitality Stadium, but it was the officials’ handling of three key incidents that infuriated United.
Maguire, who will rejoin the England squad for upcoming friendlies with Uruguay and Japan, was dismissed for pulling back Evanilson in the box with about 10 minutes remaining. Junior Kroupi converted the resulting penalty. Earlier in the match, however, United had a penalty appeal turned down when Amad Diallo appeared to be hauled back inside the area by Adrien Truffert while United led 1-0 from a Bruno Fernandes spot-kick. Interim manager Michael Carrick called the officiating “baffling”, arguing the two incidents were “almost identical” and saying: “Massive moment and I don’t understand how you can give one and not the other – it’s crazy. It’s as obvious as you can get.”
Fernandes also questioned the inconsistency, saying United could have been 2-0 up and asking why VAR did not intervene after the Diallo challenge if a similar foul led to Bournemouth’s penalty. “One is awarded as a penalty, the other one not. I know it’s difficult for the referee to give two penalties in the same game for the same team but what I don’t understand is why VAR doesn’t get involved in that situation,” he said.
The match swung into life after a goalless first half when United were awarded a penalty after Alex Jimenez tugged back Matheus Cunha in the box; Fernandes sent the keeper the wrong way to put United ahead. Soon after, Diallo went down following contact from Truffert but no foul was given, and Bournemouth moved upfield to equalise through Ryan Christie.
The Premier League match centre later stated the referee’s decision to deny a penalty for Truffert’s challenge was checked and confirmed by VAR, which deemed the contact insufficient for a foul. United regained the lead when James Hill deflected a Bruno Fernandes corner into his own net, but the Maguire incident followed, with the referee awarding a penalty and showing a straight red card; VAR confirmed that decision too, describing it as a holding offence with no attempt to play the ball and as a denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
Former United striker Andy Cole questioned the difference between the decisions, suggesting Evanilson “gone down easily” but asking why the penalty was given in one case and not the other. Ex-Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp felt both calls were understandable: he accepted Maguire’s sending-off as the player was denying a goalscoring opportunity while suggesting Truffert’s contact on Diallo was borderline and “not enough to be a penalty”.
None of the incidents prompted VAR to ask referee Stuart Attwell to review his on-field calls. That reflects VAR’s remit: it intervenes only for clear and obvious errors, not to enforce perfect consistency. Because foul decisions often sit in subjective “grey areas”, two similar-looking incidents can lead to different on-field outcomes without prompting VAR review. While that approach aims to limit VAR intervention, it can leave supporters frustrated by the perception of inconsistent decision-making.
