Mike Dean clarifies assistant referee's view on Rasmus Hojlund disallowed goal

17 September 2023 , 05:25

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Mike Dean explained the VAR decision (Image: Sky Sports)

Former Premier League referee Mike Dean has given his take on why Rasmus Hojlund saw his first Manchester United goal ruled out against Brighton.

United were beaten 3-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon as goals from Danny Welbeck, Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro did the damage. The home side’s consolation goal came via Hannibal Mejbri, but it was a case of too little, too late for Erik ten Hag’s side.

However, some United supporters believed they had a legitimate goal chalked off incorrectly earlier in the game. With the score at 1-0, Marcus Rashford got past Jan Paul van Hecke to cross for Hojlund to poke into the corner.

The goal was initially given, sending Old Trafford wild and making the score 1-1 with half-time fast approaching. But after watching the replays, VAR ruled it out, deeming that Rashford had taken the ball out of play over the byline.

Dean watched the incident while working on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday and explained why there was some confusion around the decision. "Out of play and in play is [a straightforward decision] but it is very, very tight and I can understand why the assistant referee hasn't seen it,” he said.

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“It took a lot of freeze frames forwards and backwards, forwards and backwards, but the ball had just gone out so the correct decision by the VAR."

As law 9 explains: "The ball is out of play when: It has wholly crossed the goal line or touch line, whether on the ground or in the air."

Marcus Rashford was deemed to have taken the ball out of play (Premier League)

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The decision capped a difficult full debut for Hojlund, who was substituted for Anthony Martial in the second half – much to the annoyance of the home crowd.

Ten Hag’s decision to take the £72million summer signing off was met with a chorus of boos, but he brushed off the sign of dissent.

Rasmus Hojlund's first goal for Manchester United was disallowed (Reddit)

"I think it was positive," Ten Hag said. "You see the fans in the first moment in Old Trafford, the reception for [Højlund] was great. I think he performed very well. It's good they give this signal, this message. It will give Rasmus belief.

He added: "Everyone knows he came in with a small issue. We built him over the last three or four weeks but he is not ready for a whole game and we have many games to play at short notice, so we have to build the fitness.

"If he gets injured because he is not capable of playing 90 minutes then we are much farther away than where we want to be."

United were outplayed by Brighton, who ended their 31-game unbeaten run at home in some style. Ten Hag’s side are now 13th in the Premier League, having won just two of their five games so far.

Felix Keith