Man Utd: Ex-PGMOL chief gives verdict on Cunha penalty appeal in ‘loose’ referee slam

Manchester United star Matheus Cunha only has himself to blame for not being awarded a penalty against Arsenal on Sunday as Keith Hackett slammed referee Simon Hooper’s “loose” performance.

Riccardo Calafiori scored the only goal of the game at Old Trafford, capitalising on Altay Bayindir’s flap from Declan Rice’s corner to earn Arsenal all three points on the opening day of the season.

United had the better of the game in general and could have had a golden chance to equalise had William Saliba been punished for his challenge from behind on Cunha in the box, with the Arsenal defender not appearing to make any contact with the ball as the Red Devils star fell to the ground.

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But Hackett, a former FIFA referee and ex-PGMOL chief, insists Hooper was right not to give the spot kick.

The former referee told Football Insider: “There is no doubt that the defender made contact with Cunha. The problem here is that the player is already falling down backwards and was searching for a penalty kick.

“The referee is spot on. VAR isn’t going to get involved because it’s not a clear and obvious error. Players often exaggerate their fall when a foul has taken place, and that exaggeration often makes the referee not give it.

“Saliba has made a genuine attempt for the ball, and Cunha is already on his way down. He’s not even facing the goal – why? There are lots of questions to be asked here.

“As a fan, I can understand why Man United wanted a penalty.”

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Hackett was far from impressed with Hooper’s performance in general, claiming he was “inconsistent and lacked authority” in the biggest game of the first Premier League weekend of the season.

He added: “I was less than satisfied with the referee’s performance. When you’ve got fouls taking place, but the referee is completely ignoring them without a signal of advantage, it opens up the question of whether he’s seen it or not.

“Hooper’s approach was, ‘I’ll keep the game going. I’ll stay low-key’, but in doing so, the game at times was bubbling. The discipline of both sets of players was good so that helped him.

“But, he was inconsistent and lacked authority, lacked an understanding of when to put his foot on the ball. It was an indifferent performance, and he was lucky not to have a mass confrontation.

“Loose and inconsistent. I was surprised that he was appointed for this game because I know the history between these teams. As a former boss, you always put on your strongest referee, who would maintain control.

“Howard Webb laid down all these rules, like grappling inside the box, and while they were both well disciplined, the inconsistency came through.

“There were a couple of early reckless challenges, and he felt the need to keep his cards in his pocket. A reckless challenge in the 1st minute or the 90th minute is the same. The law expects a yellow card to be awarded.”