MU escapes defeat thanks to a controversial referee decision

Manchester United Football Club has become the focus of criticism after a dramatic draw with Nottingham Forest, as their opening goal was deemed to result from a referee's mistake.

The contentious moment occurred in the first half when Casemiro headed in a goal from a corner kick taken by Bruno Fernandes. However, Nottingham Forest strongly protested, arguing that the corner should not have been awarded because the ball had not fully crossed the goal line.

In the prior play, defender Nicolo Savona managed to touch the ball on the line, and slow-motion footage suggests the ball had not completely crossed the line. Nevertheless, referee Darren England pointed to the corner flag, awarding Manchester United the corner kick, and moments later, Casemiro capitalized to score the opener.

Fans on social media immediately erupted with numerous angry comments:

“Clearly, the ball never went out!”

“Forest were unlucky; that ball didn’t fully leave the field..”

“United just scored from a corner that shouldn’t have been awarded!”

On Sky Sports Soccer Saturday, former referee Mike Dean stated that the linesman "guessed" the ball was out instead of making an accurate call. This opinion was also supported by expert Mark Halsey, a former Premier League referee.

Halsey explained: “According to the rules, the entire circumference of the ball must cross the line to be considered out. In this case, it seems the ball was still on the line. Forest have every right to feel wronged since Casemiro scored from that corner. The linesman was positioned too far away and, in my view, he simply guessed..”

Nottingham Forest's coach Sean Dyche also expressed his frustration after the match. He said: “This was not a close call. How could the linesman see clearly from 70–80 meters away? Last week, we were also wrongly penalized in a similar situation. To have two consecutive weeks of incorrect corner decisions leading to goals is unacceptable. VAR should have been used; it only takes a few seconds to review..”

Besides suffering from the controversial decision, Nottingham Forest also faced a setback when Douglas Luiz had to leave the field early due to injury, replaced by Ryan Yates in the 14th minute. Despite this, the home team fought back strongly after halftime. Morgan Gibbs-White equalized, then Nicolo Savona, involved in the disputed play, scored to put Forest ahead 2-1. However, in the final minutes, Amad Diallo scored to secure a dramatic point for Man United.

The draw caused Manchester United to miss the chance to close in on the top group, while Nottingham Forest extended their winless streak but can take pride in their resilient fight amid controversy.

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