HARRY MAGUIRE was ‘so certain’ that he would be awarded a penalty against West Bromwich Albion this afternoon.
Pundit Graeme Souness, however, called the Manchester United skipper’s fall a ‘blatant dive’.
Harry Maguire was convinced he’d won a spot kickCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The Red Devils dug themselves a hole at The Hawthorns, when Mbaye Diagne stooped to bullet a header past David de Gea in just the second minute.
Bruno Fernandes dragged a labouring United level on the stroke of half-time, although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side struggled to create chances all afternoon.
Maguire, 27, felt that he had earned his side a golden one in the second 45, however, when he tumbled to the ground in the vicinity of Baggies defender Semi Ajayi.
He told Sky Sports after the match: “I was so certain it was a penalty.
“I don’t understand why he’s [referee Craig Pawson] been sent to the monitor to even check it.
“I’m goal side of the defender, I feel a touch on my shoulder – he’s pulling me back and then there’s actually a little clip on my heels as well.
“It was minimal, but it’s a penalty. Especially after the referee points to the penalty spot, you think there’s no chance it’s getting overturned and I was so confident that it was going to be given as a penalty.
“But it seems at the moment the decisions are going against us. But we’ve got to do more to win the game, we can’t be relying on VAR decisions – we’ve got to be doing more to win the game.
Referee Craig Pawson examined the incident at the monitorCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Graeme Souness was unimpressed with the appealCredit: Getty Images – Getty
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“We huffed and puffed and created chances but we’ve still got to improve.”
Back in the studio, Souness took a dim view of that assessment.
He countered: “Heโs gone down like heโs been hit with a baseball bat, blatant dive.”
As it happened, however, it should have been inconsequential, as Maguire was offside.
But the VAR officials missed this key detail… meaning that the penalty call would have stood, had Pawson deemed it enough of a foul when at the monitor.
In the end, West Brom managed to grab a point in the 1-1 draw, but remain 12 points from safety in 19th place.
United, on the other hand, failed to claw away at much of the gap to Manchester City, trailing their in-form neighbours by seven points.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
