Premier League Match Centre issue statement as Man Utd get instant verdict on penalty call

Sunderland were denied a penalty in controversial circumstances against Manchester United. Benjamin Sesko's high foot came close to the head of Trai Hume but did not appear to connect, which saw the initial penalty decision overturned.

There was confusion as Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot amid appeals from the visitors at Old Trafford. It was not long until the official was sent to rewatch the play.

It transpired that the ball connected with Hume's face while Sesko did not make contact in the incident, other than perhaps grazing his opponent's shoulder.

The Premier League Match Centre confirmed the process. "After VAR review, the referee overturned the original decision of penalty to Sunderland . Referee announcement: “After review, there is no foul by the Manchester United player. He does not make contact with the head of the attacker. As the ball is out of play when the decision was made, the final decision is corner kick.”

Former referee Mike Dean took issue. The Sky Sports pundit said on Soccer Saturday: "The issue I have, we have referees as VARs and assistant referees as assistant VARs.

"For some reason today, we've got an assistant referee as VAR and an assistant VAR. So they don't really know what's happened.

"For me, there's no contact whatsoever. He shouldn't have been sent to the screen, it should have been cleared on the field."

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