14 August 2023 , 22:36
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Andre Onana hinted that he was fortunate to get away with a late penalty shout in Manchester United 's slender 1-0 win over Wolves on Monday night.
A second-half goal from Raphael Varane was enough to bag all three points for Erik ten Hag 's side, but the Red Devils rode their luck against Wolves, who were playing under new head coach Gary O'Neil for the first time.
Onana, who was making his league debut for United, somehow escaped punishment when he clumsily clattered into Wolves substitute Sasa Kalajdzic in stoppage time. Fans and pundits alike were left stunned that neither referee Simon Hooper or VAR decided that the incident warranted a spot-kick.
And Onana seemed to let on after the match that he would have had no complaints if a penalty was awarded following the clash. He said: “I made the decision and am responsible for everything, there was contact between two big guys.”
O'Neil, who was booked for his protests during the match by Hooper, was left bemused by the decision and revealed after the match that PGMOL referees’ officer Jon Moss had already been in touch to apologise for the error.
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The Wolves boss told reporters: “It looked like the keeper nearly took our forward's head off. I think it is a foul, you go for the ball and clatter the player that hard, it is a penalty. I thought he was going over to the screen at first but unfortunately he booked me and not Onana. But fair play to Jon Moss afterwards for coming out and apologising.
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Onana blatantly clattered into Sasa Kalajdzic but referee Simon Hooper failed to award a penalty“I understand the rules [of sticking with the on field decisions as much as possible], but I don't fully accept it. I have spoken to the officials about it already. It is a difficult decision for the on-field official, we can't just leave it. If we are all saying it then he needs to have a look.”
The decision was also slammed by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, who was covering the match alongside Jamie Carragher and Karen Carney for Monday Night Football.
He said: “I think it is a penalty because Onana was nowhere near the ball. He was under it and was never getting there. He could have made the decision before he jumped. I always said if my keeper was coming out, to take the lot. He has done that but he is nowhere near the ball. I think in an un-calculated fashion, he has decided he is going to disturb the attacking player as much as he can. I think he knew what he was doing.“