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The controversial officiating during Manchester United’s defeat to Brentford has drawn sharp criticism, with former Premier League referee Mark Halsey branding the decision not to issue a red card to Brentford defender Nathan Collins as ‘absolute nonsense.’ The incident occurred when Collins committed a foul on Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo inside the penalty box.
Despite hauling Mbeumo down, Collins only received a yellow card, a decision that was upheld by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) after a lengthy check.
The VAR ruled that Mbeumo was not in full control of the ball at the time of the foul, a judgment that has been widely disputed.
Halsey argues that the nature of the foul warranted a sending-off, regardless of the VAR’s technical interpretation.
The controversy overshadowed another catastrophic day for Manchester United under Ruben Amorim, whose team continues to struggle with poor results and mismanagement.
The focus on the refereeing decision, however, highlights a persistent issue in the Premier League with the consistency and application of VAR technology.
Halsey’s strong language underscores the perception among former officials that a clear error was made in the application of the laws.
The decision proved to be a pivotal moment in the match, with Manchester United unable to recover from the setback.
The ongoing debate over whether Collins should have been dismissed adds another layer of scrutiny to the performance of both the on-field referee and the VAR team, who failed to overturn the initial yellow card decision.