October 28th 2024.
Gary Neville, a former player for Manchester United, recently shared his opinion on the controversial penalty awarded to West Ham in their match against United. Neville believes that referee Michael Oliver may have put pressure on David Coote, who was in charge of the match, to change his initial decision and award the penalty.
Neville, who now works as a football pundit for Sky Sports, shared his theory on his podcast following United's 2-1 defeat at West Ham on Sunday. He believes that there may be a conspiracy among Premier League referees and that Coote did not want to upset his "superior" Oliver, who was overseeing the VAR system.
During the match, Coote was sent to the pitchside monitor by Oliver to review a potential penalty for a foul on Danny Ings by Matthijs De Ligt. Coote initially did not award the penalty, but after reviewing the footage multiple times, he overturned his decision and awarded the spot kick, which was converted by Jarrod Bowen.
According to Neville, Coote's hesitation to award the penalty may have been due to the pressure put on him by Oliver. He compared it to a younger person not wanting to challenge someone more senior in the workplace or on a sports team.
Neville also expressed his belief that the penalty decision was not the correct one, as he felt there was minimal contact between De Ligt and Ings. He believes that Coote's initial decision not to award the penalty was the right one and that Oliver's intervention may have influenced the final outcome of the match.
The former United player acknowledged that every team will experience a bad call at some point, but he felt that this particular decision was not justified. He also questioned the use of VAR in this situation, as he believes the on-field referee should have the final say in such a subjective matter.
Overall, Neville's comments suggest that there may be a lack of transparency and accountability among Premier League referees, and that decisions like this one can have a significant impact on the outcome of a match.
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