Erik ten Hag and Marcus Rashford agree on controversial moment in Barcelona 2-2 Man Utd

Erik ten Hag was furious with referee Maurizio Mariani for not awarding Manchester United a foul following Jules Kounde’s trip on Marcus Rashford in the second half of Thursday’s Europa League encounter against Barcelona.

The sides played out a hugely entertaining 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp in the first leg of the last-16 qualifier, which sets the tie up perfectly ahead of the reverse meeting next week. But it was a game that could have resulted in an away win had Rashford been awarded a free-kick as he bore down on goal.

The United forward appeared to be tripped at the edge of the area by Kounde and, had a foul been awarded, the Barcelona defender would almost certainly have been shown a straight red card.

It was an incident which frustrated Ten Hag and he said after the game that Mariani’s lack of a decision could have shaped the entire tie.

“I think the refereeing had a big influence on this game,” the United boss told BT Sport after the match. “I think it was a clear foul on Rashy. You can discuss if it was in or out of the box, but it’s a red card. It’s a big influence not only on this game but on this round. It can’t be, a referee can’t make such mistakes.”

As for Rashford, he felt both the referee his assistant made a poor decision at the Nou Camp. “It’s a massive moment in the game,” said the England international.

“I haven’t watched it back but in that moment I don’t understand why the linesman or the referee think I’m going down there. I’ve touched it past him, my foot touches the ball and he hits my leg. It’s a clear contact. It’s not a penalty but it’s 100 percent a foul for me.”

Meanwhile, Ten Hag was so livid with the officials regarding the Kounde decision he was shown a yellow card in the 2-2 draw, for his prolonged protestantions.

Asked during his post-match press conference if he was given clarity on why a red card was not shown, the former Ajax boss replied: “I asked the referee why and he said it was outside the box and it was not a foul.

“But the referee and the linesman were in a very good position to see and I think we have VAR. It’s not good and was a really bad decision. I can understand if they were impressed by the pressure Barca made, but that can’t be on the highest European level.”