Man United handball goal controversy deepens as PGMO admits the decisive strike against Nottingham Forest should not have stood

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited has admitted that Manchester United F.C.’s controversial second goal against Nottingham Forest F.C. on Sunday should have been ruled out for handball.

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The disputed moment occurred during United’s 3-2 Premier League victory when forward Bryan Mbeumo appeared to control the ball with his arm before teammate Matheus Cunha converted the rebound into the net.

Referee Michael Salisbury initially awarded the goal before VAR official Matt Donohue advised him to conduct an on-field review.

Despite reviewing the footage on the pitchside monitor, Salisbury upheld his original decision after judging that the contact with Mbeumo’s arm was accidental and did not merit disallowing the goal.

The decision handed Manchester United a 2-0 advantage in a match they eventually won 3-2.

However, the referees’ body later acknowledged that the Man United handball goal should not have stood.

According to reports by BBC Sport, PGMO chief Howard Webb contacted Nottingham Forest to explain the officiating error.

Webb reportedly admitted that although there were arguments supporting the original interpretation, the expected outcome under football’s laws and modern officiating standards was for the goal to be disallowed.

Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White criticised the decision after the match, insisting the ball clearly struck Mbeumo’s hand.

“From the angle I was standing at, it looked like he caught the ball,” Gibbs-White said.

“Whether he scores or not, for me it was still a handball.”

Former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann also backed the view that the goal should have been overturned.

Cann said football’s expectation was that any player controlling the ball with the hand in the build-up to a goal should result in the strike being disallowed, regardless of whether the player scoring was directly involved in the handball.

He noted that while it was admirable for a referee to stand by an original decision, the clearer interpretation pointed toward an infringement.

The incident marked only the 17th occasion in seven Premier League seasons that a referee has rejected a VAR recommendation after conducting an on-field review.

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The controversy has once again intensified debate around consistency in VAR decision-making and handball interpretations in English football.