Harry Maguire reveals what caused his headloss after Arsenal penalty decision vs Manchester United

Harry Maguire has revealed what caused him to lose his head when Arsenal were awarded a penalty against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.

Manchester United secured their place in the FA Cup fourth round after a thrilling penalty shootout win over Arsenal on Sunday.

Arsenal dominated early, with Gabriel Martinelli’s goal ruled out for offside. United grew into the game and took the lead early in the second half when Bruno Fernandes finished brilliantly from Alejandro Garnacho’s assist.

The game shifted when Diogo Dalot was sent off in the second half, and Gabriel Magalhães equalised moments later. Arsenal missed a chance to go ahead when Altay Bayındır saved Martin Ødegaard’s penalty.

With the match level after extra time, United were perfect in the shootout, while Bayındır denied Kai Havertz to secure a 5-4 victory and a spot in the next round.

Maguire reveals what caused his outrage vs Arsenal

Referee Andy Madley’s decision to award United a penalty to Arsenal in the second half after Harry Maguire was deemed to have fouled Havertz in the box caused outrage among United fans and players.

Maguire was the leader of the momentary carnage, having a go at Havertz himself before turning to the referee and making his fury at the appalling decision known.

Speaking to the press after the game, Maguire revealed that the reason he lost his head was when he realised that VAR would not be able to overturn the decision as it was not in operation.

“It’s a tough one,” Maguire said, when asked if it was the worst penalty decision he had seen.

“At the time when he gave it … my initial instinct was that it will be all right, VAR will turn it over and then I clicked on in my head that VAR could not intervene. So that’s when my head went a little bit.

“He [Madley] probably looks back … he knows he got it wrong. That’s why we have VAR because in the big moments, we need them correct and it’s a tough gig if we don’t have help for them [referees].”

VAR is making referees softer

The problem that was on clear display at the Emirates Stadium is that VAR has provided officials a safety net to make risky calls knowing that they will be correct. This may well be leading to lazy refereeing.

There was another example during the tie, too, where Gabriel Martinelli was called offside after scoring.

When VAR is in operation, the rule of thumb is only to call offside after the goal is scored to let VAR decide on if the goal should stand, but when VAR is not in operation, linesmen should make their judgement and call immediately.

This didn’t happen, with the linesmen only choosing to intervene after the goal was scored, despite VAR not being there.

While VAR is meant to assist referees, when it’s not there, their safety net is removed. Aside from this, VAR has already made several shocking calls this season. The standards of officiating must improve.

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Wednesday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.