Manchester United fans were left furious after the Red Devils were denied a first-half penalty in their match with Southampton on Thursday night.
After struggling in the early stages of the contest at Old Trafford, United felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Kyle Walker-Peters appeared to handle the ball inside the penalty area.
The Southampton full back went up for an aerial challenge with Amad Diallo and missed his header before seeming to control the ball with his arm.
Referee John Brooks waved away United’s appeals, and his on-field decision stood after VAR checked the incident.
But after watching replays, United fans were convinced that it was the wrong call by the officials.
‘If Manchester United (are) on the other end of this, the referee is being sent to check it for handball,’ one fan posted on X alongside a clip of the contentious incident.
Man United wanted a penalty for an apparent handball by Kyle Walker-Peters in the first half
Walker-Peters appeared to control the ball with his arm after missing a header
The replies to the post indicated that many fans agreed as another supporter wrote: ‘Clearly a penalty’.
A fellow fan added: ‘Yeah pen that all day’, while another X user claimed that Brooks should have given the penalty without the need for VAR intervention.
‘Not even that (checked), just straight given,’ they wrote.
The hosts may have felt hard done by at not being given a penalty, and their mood did not improve when Southampton took a shock lead just before half time.
After Andre Onana had pulled off a string of fine saves earlier in the half, there was nothing the United goalkeeper could do as a Southampton corner deflected off Manuel Ugarte and found the corner of the net.
