Referees’ boss Howard Webb has acknowledged to Manchester United that the decision to not send off Brentford’s Nathan Collins last weekend was incorrect.
United contacted Webb, head of PGMO, after their eventual 3-1 defeat to ask why the Bees’ skipper was not shown red for hauling back Bryan Mbeumo inside the area and denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
At the time, the Premier League’s match centre explained that, following a VAR check, no red was shown because Mbeumo did not have control of the ball.
However, United chief executive Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox sought an explanation.
Nathan Collins brought down Bryan Mbeumo in the box in the 71st minute when Brentford were leading 2-1
Referee Craig Pawson awarded United a penalty but only showed Collins a yellow card
Howard Webb, head of PGMO, has now admitted the officials made a mistake not to send Collins off
The club have not made a public fuss over the situation but behind the scenes have acted given the potential implications for under-pressure manager Ruben Amorim.
They are understood to have appreciated Webb’s honesty and transparency in acknowledging the mistake.
Had Brentford been reduced to 10 men, United’s chances of securing a point, and potentially three, may well have increased substantially with the score at 2-1 at the time of the incident – and the subsequent week of ‘crisis’ faced by Amorim may well have played out differently.
