Why Manchester United Were Denied a Penalty vs Tottenham Despite Romero Handball

• Manchester United were left aggrieved after they were denied a penalty against Tottenham Hotspur
• Alejandro Garnacho's shot was deflected off Christian Romero's arm, with the officials awarding corner instead
• It comes only six days after another controversial decision involving Andre Onana and Wolves striker Sasa Kalajdzic

The Video Assistant Referee came under sharp scrutiny yet again during Tottenham Hotspur's game against Manchester United on August 19.

Tottenham beat United 2-0 to record the first win in Ange Postecoglou's era as manager in his first home game since he was appointed.

Goals from Pape Sarr and a Lisandro Martinez own goal were enough to see Spurs through as they continue to find solutions in the post-Harry Kane period.

It was a comfortable win for the North London club, with United still exhibiting rustiness after scraping to a victory in their first game against Wolves on Monday.

Watch Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro hilariously fail to copy Rashford's sublime trick

Football

But perhaps it would have been a different scenario had they been awarded a penalty in the 26th minute. Pacy teenager Alejandro Garnacho sent a powerful shot goalward, which was deflected for a corner by Christian Romero's arm.

Centre referee Michael Oliver declined to give a penalty, with the VAR Craig Pawson rubberstamping the position, much to the disappointment of the Red Devils.

Why the penalty wasn't awarded

With the referee's, PGMOL, body yet to provide official reasoning, the only reasoning would be that Oliver and Pawson were possibly convinced that Romero's arm was not in an unnatural position.

The handball rules require that the arm should not be making the body unnaturally bigger. It also takes into account how close the arm was to the body at the time the ball struck it.

GOAL adds that the proximity of where Garnacho's shot was taken to Romero's arm might also have been a factor.

Arsenal beat Man City on penalties to win Community Shield

Football

Replays show that the ball clearly struck Romero's arm. Natural or not, or the proximity, are under the officials' discretion.

In a post-match rant, United skipper Bruno Fernandes asked for referees to start doing interviews after matches to explain their decisions.

Man United vs Wolves case

The latest controversy comes after Wolves manager Gary O'Neill disclosed that he received an apology from the referee's body, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), through John Moss.

Sports Brief reported that Andre Onana had cluttered into Sasa Kalajdzic, but referee Simon Hooper did not award a penalty. Hooper was taken off this weekend's game in what was seen as a direct admission of culpability from the referee's body.