Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana should have conceded a penalty in stoppage time against Wolves during the opening game week of the Premier League season, PGMOL chief Howard Webb has admitted.
Speaking in the first episode of Match Officials: Mic'd Up, a new series aiming to explain refereeing decisions via match footage and previously unreleased audio, Webb highlights the VAR process used during Manchester United's 1-0 win against Wolves last month.
With Wolves trailing 1-0 in the 96th minute, Pedro Neto crossed from the right-wing into the crowded Manchester United box. Craig Dawson and Sasa Kalajdzic both rose to meet the ball with a header, but Onana came rushing out of his goal to challenge, too.
The Manchester United 'keeper smashed into Kalajdzic, but referee Simon Hooper waved away claims for a penalty, while the VAR official Michael Salisbury reviewed the footage but didn't feel like an on-field review was necessary.
Match Officials: Mic'd Up highlighted the conversation occurring between officials as the incident happened.
VAR transcript from Manchester United vs Wolves
Referee Simon Hooper: "No way. It's like collisions, we don't give those."
VAR Michael Salisbury: "Possible foul there, just need to view that. So Onana goes to challenge for the ball. Delay, delay - checking possible penalty.
"I want to view this because I think Onana collides into him. He's trying to reach the ball but he's late, and he blocks in. Will you look at this with me Westy (Assistant VAR, Richard West) please, to see what I'm seeing?"
Salisbury continues: "So the goalkeeper goes to challenge for the ball and he makes aerial contact with the Wolves player. It's late and it's clumsy in my opinion. Dawson wins the header, but it's late, it's very late in the aerial challenge.
"I think because the Wolves player [Kalajdzic) doesn't head the ball, because Dawson heads it...
At this point AVAR Richard West cuts in: "Dawson clearly wins the head."
Salisbury: "Yeah, and therefore it's a normal collision because they've both challenged for the ball. Check complete, check complete."
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Howard Webb's comments on a penalty not being awarded
Immediately after the game between Manchester United and Wolves at Old Trafford on Monday 14 August, Webb contacted Wolves to apologise for the mistake in not awarding a penalty.
The PGMOL chief elaborated on that apology while reviewing footage and audio from the game, suggesting why VAR failed that night.
"We hear the VAR in this circumstance going through the checking phase and he's describing what he's seen," Webb said. "He starts to go down the road to recommending a review, but he overthinks it a little bit.
"Sometimes VAR can do that. They're trying to identify what the game would expect and when he sees them come together, he knows that can happen and it's not a foul.
"He sees it as a collision and two players coming together - the difference with this one, is that Onana jumps in at the Wolves player so it's not two players coming together. It's one going into another."
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