Alan Shearer rips into Premier League statement on Manchester United decision vs Everton

Alan Shearer has ripped into the Premier League’s justification after Everton were not awarded a penalty against Manchester United on Saturday afternoon.

Manchester United staged a second-half comeback to earn a 2-2 draw against Everton, with goals from Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte salvaging a point for Rúben Amorim’s side at Goodison Park.

Everton started on the front foot, pressing United aggressively and dictating the tempo. Their pressure paid off after 20 minutes when Beto capitalised on sloppy defending to fire home his fifth goal in four matches.

The hosts doubled their lead just ten minutes later, as Abdoulaye Doucouré overpowered Harry Maguire to tuck in a rebound after André Onana’s save, leaving United facing an uphill battle at the break.

United emerged from the interval with more purpose but still struggled to assert themselves. However, with 20 minutes left, Bruno Fernandes sparked the fightback with a stunning free kick that curled into the top corner. Moments later, Manuel Ugarte produced a brilliant strike of his own to bring United level, setting up a frantic finale.

The drama nearly took another twist when Matthijs de Ligt brought down Ashley Young in the box in the closing moments. Everton looked set to snatch victory from the penalty spot, but VAR overturned the decision, ensuring United held on for a hard-fought draw.

Full Premier League statement on penalty decision

The penalty decision at the end of the tie was a stark talking point as many felt the on-field decision to give a penalty was the correct one, and VAR’s intervention to tell Andy Madley to reassess his call by rewatching footage should never have happened.

The Premier League then clarified the reasoning behind the decision, with the verdict being that “no foul had been committed” by Maguire.

“VAR checked the referee’s call of penalty to Everton for a challenge by Maguire on Young and deemed that no foul had been committed and recommended an on-field review,” the Premier League’s Match Centre wrote on X.

However, the admittedly baffling part of this statement is that many feel Maguire was not the player who had committed the foul, and that De Ligt should have been the one focused on.

Shearer tears into Premier League statement

Speaking on BBC One’s Match of the Day programme, former Premier League striker Alan Shearer was on duty to assess the result, and he chose to rip into the decisions made by VAR and subsequent justification.

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“Whatever happened to the high bar, clear and obvious and not re-refereeing games? There was no need for VAR to get involved at all because it wasn’t a clear and obvious error,” Shearer started.

“Yes, Ashley Young tries to make the most of it, but there’s two clear pulls on his shirt. It’s clear to see. The referee gives the penalty, then he’s sent to the screen…but what is mind-boggling to me is that they don’t show him the correct angles.

“They show him one angle when it might look a bit of a dive, they show him another and then straight away he’s off [to overturn the decision] that would be most confusing to me.

“I agree with David Moyes. It’s as if they are trying to force the referee into a decision and for me they get it wrong.”

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