LUKE Shaw will NOT face any FA action for claiming referee Stuart Attwell refused to give Manchester United a penalty because of the reaction it would cause.
But there is no suggestion of any issues as far as the FA is concerned over what Attwell actually said to United skipper Harry Maguire.
Luke Shaw avoided trouble for his comments after Man Utd’s goalless draw at ChelseaCredit: Getty Images
There was confusion over what Stuart Attwell said to United skipper Harry MaguireCredit: AFP or Licensors
Embarrassed United chiefs sought to row back Shaw’s comments in a Sky interview after the goalless draw at Chelsea.
The England left-back had been asked about Attwell’s decision to ignore the recommendation of his VAR Chris Kavanagh to award a spot-kick for handball by Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Attwell, though, stuck with his initial call after viewing the pitch-side monitor – only the sixth time this season a recommended overturn has not been heeded.
Shaw claimed that United skipper Maguire had been stunned by Attwell’s justification.
He said: “The ref even said to H, if it’s a pen it’s going to cause a lot of talk after. So I don’t know what happened there.”
Scrambling United backtracked later on Sunday, suggesting that Shaw had misheard Maguire in what appeared a desperate effort to avoid a likely ban.
FA regulations state that comments about officials that “imply bias or attack their integrity” lay a player open to a misconduct charge under Rule E3 (1).
Yet after watching the interview footage disciplinary beaks determined neither Shaw nor boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had breached the regulations.
SunSport understands the FA disciplinary department, having looked deeply into Shaw’s comments, believe he did misapprehend what Maguire said to him.
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Manchester United wanted a penalty for handball against Callum Hudson-OdoiCredit: Sky Sports
In those circumstances, it was felt that there was insufficient evidence to conclude there was clear proof that Shaw was bringing Attwell’s integrity into question.
Even so, it is a huge let-off for Shaw, who faced a two-match ban for his comments if a charge had been upheld.
Prem refs chiefs at PGMOL are understood to have been satisfied that Attwell had said nothing wrong to Maguire and that is also the FA view, with the referee’s conduct not under any question.
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Chelsea and Manchester United tie in a goalless draw
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
