Why Casemiro goal shouldn't have stood as Man Utd get scathing new referee verdict

View Image

Casemiro's goal for Manchester United against Nottingham Forest has sparked controversy, with claims made it shouldn't have been allowed. After Ruben Amorim's side had dominated the first half-an-hour, they were then rewarded when the Brazilian international headed in a Bruno Fernandes corner, there are strong suggestions that the set-piece should not have been awarded.

Nicola Savona managed to deflect a threatening cross and seemed to have keep the ball in play, but the assistant referee, who was positioned on the opposite side of the pitch, signalled for a corner which Casemiro subsequently scored from.

Ex-Premier League referee Mike Dean didn't hold back his views on that contentious flashpoint. "It's not out," he confessed on Sky Sports show Soccer Saturday. "The assistant referee can't see it but the ball is nowhere near out and it's just a guess by the assistant referee.

Just over 10 minutes later, the home supporters let out a chorus of boos as the officials headed down the tunnel with chants of; 'You don't know what you're doing' following up. United were unlikely to be bothered, though, as they push a fourth straight victory in the Premier League .

Victories over Brighton , Liverpool and Sunderland came before the clash against Forest - with Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Casemiro proving clinical in front of goal. Playing once every seven days has, seemingly, assisted United and Amorim with another triumph on Saturday likely to take them into the top four, if only for a few hours.

Forest scored twice in quick succession upon the restart, though, to recover from that Casemiro opener.

"More or less, I watched the last game, it was one of the first ones here that we won, we were so lucky in that game. I watched against Porto, I watched against [AFC] Bournemouth , the style of play is similar, with different characteristics," he said on Forest.

"I watched one game that we didn't pre-season with Sporting CP, so to try to understand how he played in that game. It's similar, he can change some characteristics of the players with the talent that they have, especially with Gibbs-White, Anderson, Hudson-Odoi, very good players.

"So we need to be prepared for a different game against Brighton. We had space to play. We're not going to have that space.

"You need to understand that we're not being the same team. away and at home, so we need to improve the way we control the environment. Every tackle is a big moment for the opponent's fans, so we need to play better away.

"We are prepared for a very tough match."

Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.