Manchester United to file complaint over penalty decision in Bournemouth draw

LAST UPDATE | 1 hr ago

MANCHESTER UNITED ARE set to make a formal complaint over the denial of a second penalty in Friday’s Premier League draw with Bournemouth.

It’s understood the Red Devils will contact refereeing body PGMO on Saturday, with club officials furious about a second-half incident involving Amad Diallo.

Diallo appeared to be pulled to the ground in the penalty area moments before Ryan Christie equalised for Bournemouth.

Referee Stuart Attwell decided not to give the decision on the field and it was not overturned by VAR.

A James Hill own goal put United back ahead but, to rub salt into the wound, Bournemouth were then awarded a penalty for a push by Harry Maguire, who was sent off, with the game ending 2-2.

It is not the first time this season United have felt wronged by decision-making, including when Attwell disallowed a goal against Burnley, while they were also unhappy with nine minutes of added time.

United’s interim manager Michael Carrick branded Attwell’s decision making “baffling” and “astonishing” in his post-match press conference.

He said he had not spoken to Attwell after the final whistle and will take no comfort if PGMO admits a mistake was made.

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“It’s kind of, once it’s done, it’s done,” said Carrick. “You can have all the conversations in the world about could it have been this, could it have been that?

“I just think that’s for VAR. If they’ve already given one and agreed that that was a penalty, then surely the next one should be a straightforward one? After it, there’s no point, whatever comes. Whether they apologise or not, it’s done now.”

United remain in a strong position in terms of Champions League qualification but victory would have seen them close the gap to Manchester City to four points ahead of the international break.

Maguire’s red card came on the same day he was recalled to the England squad along with team-mate Kobbie Mainoo.

PA understands talks over new deals for both players – Maguire’s expires at the end of this season and Mainoo’s in 2027 – are progressing.

Carrick said: “Contract negotiations with all players, it’s ongoing. You obviously hope whatever that is that it gets done in the right way. We’ll see but they’ve both done great and being back in the England squad is what they deserve.”

The draw with Bournemouth means United have only won two of their last eight games away from Old Trafford despite the upturn in form under Carrick.

“In this league, it’s tough to win games,” said the former Middlesbrough boss. “We’ve won a lot of games recently so the amount of points we’ve accumulated and some of the performances and the results we’ve had I think is a big positive.

“Home and away, it’s a tough league and it happens. You’ve seen how games can unfold quite quickly but I thought we managed it in the end pretty well.”

- First published as Michael Carrick reaction piece at 11.49am, updated at 1.45pm with latest development