Gary Lineker's VAR question at Fulham says it all after Man Utd penalty drama

Gary Lineker slammed the penalty decision in the draw between Manchester United and Fulham on Sunday, claiming he couldn't tell which team was getting the spot-kick. The Red Devils were awarded a penalty in the first-half of the visit to Craven Cottage , after it was determined that Calvin Bassey had fouled Mason Mount in the goalmouth during a corner.

However, the typically reliable Bruno Fernandes skied his 12-yard striker over the bar, with no goals coming until the second half of the game. Leny Yoro looked to have opened the scoring in the 58th minute with a glancing header - but this was later ruled a Rodrigo Muniz own goal.

Seconds after coming on, Emile Smith Rowe equalised in the 73rd minute, and while both teams pushed for that all-important winner, it finished 1-1 and United grabbed their first point of the season. However, Lineker wasn't best pleased with his trip to west London, as he shared his confusion during the VAR decision .

While discussing United's struggles on the Rest is Football podcast, the ex-Tottenham Hotspur star said: "They got a penalty, which my goodness, what a bizarre experience. You know, going to the game, we're watching the game, there's a corner and then the ball's cleared, the balls goes up to the other end of the pitch and Fulham's on the attack.

"Then suddenly the ref stops and you're thinking, 'What's going on here?' Now, I know the experience is probably different at home, but if you're in the ground, Oh my. Then you look at, you see a sign saying VAR penalty check. And I was honestly sitting there and I said 'For which team, who to?'

"I didn't even know whether it was that end or that end, and you had no idea what was going on. I mean, it's such an awful experience for fans."

Lineker added: "I mean, I know now they're telling you why they changed their decision, which he ultimately did. I couldn't see from how far we were away, so I had no idea whether it should have been overturned.

"But Bruno missed it anyway, blazed it over the bar. But they've got to actually tell you what's going on for the fans in the ground to hear it. There's a penalty check because so and so, we think he might have pushed so and so, but we're checking all the angles."

When co-host Alan Shearer questioned Lineker's thoughts on the penalty decision itself, the popular pundit agreed that it was the right decision to award it. The 64-year-old went on to give Ruben Amorim's side some praise for their improvement on the previous campaign, despite United not winning a game yet in the 2025/26 season.

He added: "United started really well, I thought, 'Oh, hello,' because last week I thought they showed something, even though they lost, and the first 15 to 20 minutes you thought, 'Mm, okay'. Cunha was electric, went really close [with] a brilliant effort, hit the post.

"Another one blazed over the bar, he had a one on one with the keeper where he probably should've scored but a good save from Leno and you thought, 'Well, there's something here.'"

Reflecting on the missed opportunity, manager Amorim admitted that while he doesn't feel the "urgency" that fans may be dealing with, he believes the team has to manage the game better once they are ahead.

Speaking to MUTV post-match, the Portuguese boss said: "In this moment, we need to think about the performance. Of course I’m not crazy, I know what the feeling is of the players that play in the team that they have to win every match.

"But I felt that in the past, I don’t feel a lack of urgency in this moment. What I felt is that we missed the penalty, we missed some chances and then we score and I have the feeling that now we have to defend this goal.

"That is not a lack of urgency, it may be urgency in the opposite side. We just need to focus on our movement and the way we have to play the game."

Amorim added: "It’s normal [that Fulham are dangerous from corners]. I think we tried to press high and, after one or two times, we need to understand that sometimes we need to manage the game, to wait for the opponent. That was the option of Fulham and sometimes we push the ball to the side too soon.

"It was quite easy for the opponent to mark us and we wanted to press all of the time. We wanted to do that but sometimes we have to be better in that moment, understand the game, try to drop a little bit and start the pressure, so they had more space than us when they were attacking."

Meanwhile, Fulham boss Marco Silva was much more critical of the refereeing decisions throughout the game, particularly at United's goal - where he felt it should have been disallowed for a foul.

Addressing the media post-match, Silva said: "I would like to explain everything about the VAR decisions this afternoon, but I can't. I can't because they were different in many different ways. They were unbelievable seeing two fouls at the same time, Shaw on Rodrigo and Bassey on Mount at the same time, both fouls, and they saw that Bassey foul was half of a half second before the Shaw foul on Muniz.

"Then the second one [the United goal]. I think what I saw is what everyone saw in the stadium; everyone around the world saw it. Two players were isolated at a corner and one player pushed the other to head the ball. If you go by the rules you know what is going to happen.

"I would like those types of decisions to always be the same. Simple as that."

United will travel to League Two side Grimsby Town next in the second round of the Carabao Cup, before a visit from newly-promoted Burnley on August 30. Silva's side will face Bristol City next in the cup, before a tricky test at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea .

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