Premier League issue statement after controversial red card call in Manchester United defeat to Brentford
Man Utd were defeated 3-1 by Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime.
The Premier League have released a statement to explain why Brentford defender Nathan Collins was not shown a red card in their 3-1 victory over Manchester United.
Igor Thiago bagged a first-half brace as Brentford piled even more pressure on Ruben Amorim with their second Premier League win of the new season. Benjamin Sesko netted his first United goal to give them hope of a comeback, but it wasn’t to be as Bruno Fernandes saw a second-half penalty stopped by Caoimhin Kelleher.
United enjoyed the best opportunity of a scrappy second-half when Bryan Mbeumo was pulled back by Collins in the box as he attempted to connect with a Matheus Cunha cross into the box.
After a brief pause, referee Craig Pawson awarded a penalty kick, while there was also a VAR check to gauge whether the Brentford defender should have been sent off for denying a clear goal scoring opportunity. There was a lengthy stoppage while a decision was reached, which Fernandes might feel contributed to his eventual effort being saved.
It proved to be a hugely controversial moment in the match as Brentford went on to add a third through substitute Mathias Jensen and pile even more pressure onto Ruben Amorim.
Shortly after the red card decision was reached, the Premier League used their Match Centre social media account to explain why Collins had not been sent off. “The referee’s call of penalty was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Collins deemed to pulled Mbeumo back.,” a statement read. “VAR also checked the referee’s call of yellow card to Collins - and deemed that Mbeumo wasn’t in control of the ball."