Alarming Manchester United referee detail emerges after Southampton draw

Manchester United drew against Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Many Manchester United fans, as well as Erik ten Hag, have complained about the standard of refereeing on display for the fixture with Casemiro sent off for a dangerous tackle after just over half an hour had been played.

There were multiple other incidents which have since been discussed, such as Manchester United not receiving two penalties: one for a handball, and one for a foul on Marcus Rashford.

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The fixture ended in a goalless draw with both sides hitting the post and each team’s respective goalkeepers making good saves throughout the game.

However, many United fans ultimately blamed the draw on the decisions made by the referee.

It has since been revealed that Anthony Taylor, the man who refereed the fixture, has refereed multiple other United fixtures this season, such as the 3-1 loss away against Aston Villa towards the end of last year.

In that fixture, there was a very controversial decision made in which Manchester United’s wall was moved back further than it should have been for a Lucas Digne free-kick, which the French fullback subsequently scored.

The point was raised at the time that the wall was way too far back, and United subsequently complained to the Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOL), which is responsible for match officials in English professional football, about the decision and will almost certainly file another complaint about the same referee again.

The fact that Anthony Taylor was assigned to referee Sunday’s fixture, despite the fact that United has already previously complained about his refereeing does not bode well for PGMOL.

Erik ten Hag had plenty to say after the Sunday night draw, claiming that “this game was influenced by the referee.”

When asked on whether his side should have been awarded a penalty, he told Sky Sports: “Oh definitely, there’s no doubt. I don’t understand why the VAR is not interrupting because they did previously.”

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He further discussed Casemiro’s red card, explaining: Casemiro has played over 500 games in Europe. He never had a red card. Now, in 20 games in the Premier League he has [two], so… What I think is the inconsistency, players don’t know any more what the policy is.”