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Uefa backs VAR decision that gave Man Utd penalty against PSG

Last updated on .From the section European Footballcomments1549

Diogo Dalot's shot hit Presnel Kimpembe's arm as United trailed 3-2 on aggregate
Diogo Dalot's shot hit Presnel Kimpembe's arm as United trailed 3-2 on aggregate

Uefa has backed the video assistant referee system's decision to award Manchester United an injury-time penalty that knocked Paris St-Germain out of the Champions League.

Diogo Dalot's shot hit Presnel Kimpembe's arm but was only deemed a spot-kick after the VAR intervention.

Injured PSG forward Neymar called the decision a "disgrace".

But Uefa said the distance the ball covered was "not short" and Kimpembe's arm was "not close" to his body.

Based on this, it added that "the impact could therefore not be unexpected" and "the defender's body [was made] bigger thus resulting in the ball being stopped from travelling in the direction of the goal.

"The referee, therefore, awarded a penalty kick.

"Given that the referee did not recognise the incident clearly during live play [referred to as serious missed incident in the VAR protocol] an on-field review was conducted."

After a lengthy delay where Slovenian referee Damir Skomina conducted the review on a pitch-side monitor, Marcus Rashford scored the penalty to earn United a 3-1 win on the night and send them through on away goals.

It was the 21-year-old's first competitive spot-kick for his club and ensured that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team became the first in Champions League history to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the home leg in a knockout tie.

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1549 comments

  • Comment posted by Do Bee Do Bee Do, at 11:58 8 Mar 2019

    I'm happy with the decision purely on the basis of how much it has upset that primadonna Neymar.

  • Comment posted by Think outside the box, at 11:50 8 Mar 2019

    Penalty or not, Paris should not be counting on a last minute penalty decision to decide their fate. They should have put the game beyond reach with the talent they had on the field prior to the VAR decision and with United having a depleted squad.

    Well done Man United and that is difficult to say, coming form a Man City fan. You deserve to be in the quarters. Hope we can see you in the draw.

  • Comment posted by Wildwood, at 12:00 8 Mar 2019

    Defender turned his back in order to claim that when the ball hit him it could not possibly be deliberate. The 'natural' position should have been facing the shooter, where from that distance he could have had time to move his arm.

    Therefore a penalty.

    When does Neymar get called by UEFA for criticising the decision?

  • Comment posted by Heathy94, at 11:58 8 Mar 2019

    He threw himself recklessly into the air with his back to ball, fully intending to block the shot, but he didn't count on it hitting his arm that was left exposed, It is a penalty, if all you have to do is turn your back to the ball and block the shot with your arm and get away with it simply because "you wasn't looking" then expect defenders to keep doing it. He was reckless in his failed attempt

  • Comment posted by MethodMan, at 11:57 8 Mar 2019

    No doubt. It was a penalty. If you look closely, Kempepe’s eyes follows the ball precisely for a good few seconds and raises his arms slightly to the right. The distance wasn’t short either and he knew exactly what he was doing. Big fan of VAR. it was a correct call whether you like it or not.

  • Comment posted by ohtheforlanity, at 12:18 8 Mar 2019

    No matter what your club allegiances are, surely most people can take solace in the fact that it's severely annoyed Neymar. That can only be a good thing

  • Comment posted by Orkneyboy, at 12:11 8 Mar 2019

    I would love to hear more about what Neymar defines as a disgrace.

    For many, across the football world, he IS the very definition of a disgrace.

    A disgrace to the game many love as he rolls about under little to no contact with the sole aim of gaining a dishonest advantage and to deprive the opposition and their players the rewards of an honest victory.

    Shame on him though he has no shame

  • Comment posted by roforofoSpurs, at 11:47 8 Mar 2019

    Totally agree; penalty all day!

  • Comment posted by Dogmeat, at 12:07 8 Mar 2019

    Amazing that Neymar of all people was irked at the possibility of the ref being deceived.

  • Comment posted by Garibaldi, at 11:42 8 Mar 2019

    It was 100% a penalty!

  • Comment posted by DoubleHelix, at 12:38 8 Mar 2019

    Referee went over to the TV...saw Neymar and his ridiculous earings...gives the penalty.

  • Comment posted by Pete, at 12:30 8 Mar 2019

    Considering Neymar spends most of his time on the pitch trying to con referees into making wrong decisions he doesn’t really have the right to complain about a 50/50 interpretation call going against his team

  • Comment posted by King Rooney, at 11:49 8 Mar 2019

    It was a clear penalty all day. Just bitter if you think otherwise. Turned his back and flailed his arms.

  • Comment posted by Simon, at 12:04 8 Mar 2019

    If you look carefully at the footage again, the defender watched the ball almost to the point of impact, and then turned his head away at the last second. He knew exactly what he was doing and was hoping to either block the shot with his back or an arm if that failed, and look innocent as his back was turned. For once a British side has got the benefit of a decent decision in European football.

  • Comment posted by abdulmismail, at 12:03 8 Mar 2019

    Liverpool fan here: How can anyone complain? VAR was brought in 'specifically' for this reason. There is no movement for interpretation. The referee & the control room assistants are there to ensure marginal calls are handed down correctly.

    It doesn't matter if he had his back turned because he knew the shot was coming nor if the shot wasn't on target. It struck his arm in the box.

    Penalty.

  • Comment posted by Van der Kevo, at 12:28 8 Mar 2019

    Injured PSG forward Neymar called the decision a "disgrace"............no pal, what is a disgrace is how you act on a pitch when you are supposed to be a role model. Your constant cheating theatrics is a disgrace and this very harsh penalty aware could not have happened against a better team

  • Comment posted by McCol, at 11:54 8 Mar 2019

    It's not rocket science really.

    The defender looks at the shot coming, turns his back on it and raises his arm outwards, penalty all day long. He should've stood his ground and taken the hit, less chance of giving away a penalty.

  • Comment posted by ian, at 12:17 8 Mar 2019

    If Neymar said it was not a penalty, then it was not a penalty, because this man has got more penalties than anyone when it was never a penalty.

  • Comment posted by pip, at 12:11 8 Mar 2019

    Neymar's comments regarding the penalty are hilarious. I cant think of a worse player for demonstrating disgraceful behaviour almost every time he plays. Im not sure he's the best judge of dubious decisions as he's been awarded literally hundreds of them for his teams. It was handball. Thats it.

  • Comment posted by U17545540, at 12:36 8 Mar 2019

    @167 Godly

    I'm an LFC fan and have my rivallry with Utd fans, but referencing the Munich air disaster in the debate is uttely wrong and bang out of order. You need to take a good hard look at yourself !!

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