Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O’Neill claims Premier League referees’ chief Jon Moss apologized to him after his team was denied a stoppage-time penalty in Monday night’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Andre Onana, who was making his Premier League debut for United on the night, collided with Sasa Kalajdzic deep into added time, but referee Simon Hooper did not react, with VAR ruling there was no foul.
O’Neil revealed in a post-match interview that he had received an immediate apology from Moss.
“Having just spoken to Jon Moss, fair enough, he came straight out and said it was a blatant penalty and it should have been given,” O’Neil said.
“He said it was clear and obvious,” he added. “And he can’t believe the on-field referee didn’t give it, and he can’t believe VAR didn’t intervene. It’s probably made me feel worse, to be honest, because once you know you’re right, you feel worse about leaving with nothing.”
Ten Hag downplays the controversial penalty decision
Meanwhile, United manager, Erik Ten Hag downplayed the incident.
“When VAR looked at it and decided not to give it of course we are pleased,” the Dutchman said. “It’s about the referee and the VAR. I think the two players came together. Andre didn’t interfere with the action from them because first was the touch on the ball, and then came Andre.”
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Despite the contentious decision, Manchester United won thanks to Raphael Varane’s close-range 76th-minute header from a Wan-Bissaka’s volley.
