Fulham manager Marco Silva launched into an explosive rant about VAR following their 3-2 loss against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.
Manchester United secured a dramatic late win as Benjamin Šeško’s goal at the death earned a 3-2 Premier League victory over Fulham on Sunday.
United started brightly, with Amad and Harry Maguire both denied early, while Senne Lammens reacted sharply to stop an effort at the other end. The opener came just before 20 minutes when Casemiro met Bruno Fernandes’ free kick at the back post and headed home with quality.
Leading 1-0 at the break, United faced a stronger Fulham response after half-time. A superb strike from Cunha doubled the lead, but Raúl Jiménez reduced the deficit from the spot after winning the penalty. Deep into added time, Kevin fired in an excellent effort to level at 2-2.
With the match heading for a draw, substitute Šeško produced a brilliant late finish to snatch all three points, making it three wins from three for Michael Carrick and keeping United in the top four.
Silva could not believe “horrendous” decision
The game was not without referee intervention. United were awarded a penalty in the first half, but it was overturned, and a free-kick was awarded from which Casemiro ultimately scored.
Speaking with Sky Sports after the game, Fulham boss Marco Silva absolutely ripped into the decision to give a penalty, claiming that VAR “found” the foul on Cunha that resulted in United’s free-kick.
“The story of the game started with a horrendous, terrible decision from John Brooks with the penalty he gave,” Silva said.
“Horrendous decision from that moment, big, big mistake. It was the first time we saw all the Premier League fans, and us coaches and players. We have to take all this frustration to win the next one.”
When asked about VAR’s intervention, he claimed that they “found” a foul on Cunha outside the area to make up for the terrible decision. “The penalty was given by the tackle,” he continued. “After, because the decision was so bad, they found a different foul.”
Doubling down, Silva then said: “I feel my players, I feel our fans but we have to respect and the people in charge. I know why the penalty was given. VAR went in a completely different direction to find something to find a free-kick that was not the reason why the penalty was given.”
When asked whether he has spoken to John Brooks, Silva said: “I don’t want get more cards because I want to be on the touchline. I don’t want to speak more.”
Silva has missed the point about VAR
It’s bizarre that Silva has decided to focus so heavily on the incident, considering that all the correct protocol was followed and the right decision was made.
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VAR was right to rule out the penalty, as Fulham defender Jorge Cuenca secured a touch on the ball during the incident. But, at the same time, the Spaniard had fouled Cunha moments before during the same tussle.
VAR concluded that, while no foul occurred inside the area when the two players battled for the ball, one did occur just outside the box, as Cuenca had a grip of Cunha’s shirt and was slowing him down.
United were then correctly awarded a free-kick outside the area instead of a penalty for a foul in the box. Silva’s disdain for the decision makes no sense, and he’s simply trying to deflect from the fact his side conceded a last-minute winning goal.
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