Marcus Rashford scores Manchester United’s third goal from the penalty spot. (Reuters)Two days after Manchester United stunned Paris Saint-Germain in the second-leg of the round of 16 Champions League clash, UEFA on Friday explained the referee’s decision to award the English giants a penalty deep in the stoppage time. The penalty, which was successfully converted by Marcus Rashford helped United secure a thumping 3-1 win over PSG and sent the English side into the quarter-finals on away goals.
Going into the clash with a two-goal disadvantage from the first-leg at Old Trafford, the Red Devils were on the cusp of being eliminated from the Champions League. However, their fortune changed when a VAR-awarded spot-kick ensured United a dramatic win on away goals.
The decision garnered mixed opinions throughout the football community and Brazilian footballer Neymar, who didn’t feature in the contest due to an injury, was agitated by the decision. However, UEFA released a statement to explain the decision and stated it was made in full compliance with the VAR protocol.
“Given that the referee did not recognise the incident clearly during live play (referred to as serious missed incident in the VAR protocol) an on-field review was conducted. Following the on-field review, the referee confirmed that the distance that the ball travelled was not short and the impact could therefore not be unexpected. The defender’s arm was not close to the body, which made the defender’s body bigger thus resulting in the ball being stopped from travelling in the direction of the goal. The referee, therefore, awarded a penalty kick. All the above-mentioned decisions were made in full compliance with the VAR protocol,” the football body said in its statement.
United’s caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has changed the fortune of the club after taking over from Jose Mourinho, said, “It’s this club. It’s what we do, that’s Man United, that’s the Champions League, it’s what it does.”
“It’s a typical Manchester United night. We had a game plan and the belief in the boys was what we hoped for. Everyone shares a huge pride. The players were focused, they listened to all the instructions and they knew that we had to defend well. There was a lot of quality,” he added.
