In an interview, former Premier League referee Mike Dean has addressed two controversial incidents that took place during Arsenal’s dramatic 3-1 victory over Manchester United on Sunday.
Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag, blamed three refereeing decisions for their second defeat of the season.
Two of these incidents involved a potential penalty situation with Rasmus Hojlund and the disallowed 88th-minute goal by Alejandro Garnacho.
Regarding the penalty incident, which involved Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes, Dean told Sky Sports, “I do not believe that is a penalty. I think it is just good strong defending.”
“Both players are grappling for the ball and Gabriel’s arms are there, but if you look from another angle, Hojlund is holding onto Gabriel’s left arm, pulling the defender down. I am completely satisfied with that decision,” Dean added.
The disallowed goal by Garnacho in the late stages of the match proved to be a major turning point.
Casemiro’s through pass set up Garnacho for the goal, but a VAR review showed he was slightly offside.
Dean further explained, “His shoulder is offside, and that is the reason it was disallowed.”
“I understand where the manager is coming from because the camera angle may not have been ideal, but we have the technology to position the lines correctly and it appeared offside at normal speed,” Dean concluded.