Panel Rules: Manchester United Should Not Have Been Awarded Second Penalty Against Bournemouth

The Premier League's Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel has ruled that Manchester United's claims for a second penalty against Bournemouth last month were unfounded, confirming that both the on-field referee and VAR made the correct decision. The incident occurred with the score at 1-0 to the Red Devils, who had already scored from a penalty. Amad Diallo went down in the box, seemingly held by Adrian Truffer with both hands, but Anthony Taylor waved play on. VAR concurred with his decision. Following the 2-2 draw, visiting manager Michael Carrick expressed his bewilderment at the lack of a penalty for the foul on Amad, especially after the referee awarded a penalty to the home side and a red card to Harry Maguire for a similar action late in the game. The club subsequently lodged an official complaint regarding the officiating.

According to the BBC, the panel members were divided in their assessment, but the final vote was 3-2 against awarding a penalty. The majority's explanation was that while Truffer "acted recklessly, the contact made was not significant and therefore remained below the high threshold for a foul." Two members believed the defender's action was not a footballing one and a penalty should have been awarded. However, the panel unanimously supported VAR's non-intervention, agreeing that it aligned with the high threshold for video assistant intervention in cases where they need to correct the on-field referee's decision.

The panel identified only one significant refereeing error in Gameweek 31: Chelsea should have been awarded a penalty in the 85th minute of their away match against Everton, with the score already 3-0 to the Merseyside club. The on-field referee should have called a foul by Tarkowski on Fofana. Here too, the panel was divided – 3-2 in favor of a penalty being awarded, with VAR's non-intervention again supported due to the lack of a clear and obvious error.