Referee controversial in Man Utd's draw

The first controversial situation at Old Trafford on March 12 was the direct red card of midfielder Casemiro in the 34th minute. He stepped on the ball first, then followed the momentum to hit the shin of striker Carlos Alcaraz. Referee Taylor initially showed a yellow card, then went outside to review the situation after listening to Marriner's advice.

After seeing referee Taylor come out to review the situation, Casemiro punched himself in the head and kicked hard on the grass. The referee returned and showed a direct red card to the Brazilian midfielder, causing him to cover his face. Man Utd and Southampton players both came to support the former Real Madrid midfielder, when he was sent off and suspended for the next four matches.

"The referee influenced the game," coach Erik ten Hag said after the 0-0 draw at Old Trafford. "Players do not understand the referee's control anymore. In Chelsea's match against Leicester on March 11, defender Ricardo Pereira also entered the ball with Joao Felix in the same way but did not receive a card. The referee was inconsistent. ".

And goalkeeper David de Gea commented: "The referee needs to be more consistent. Sometimes they show a red card for that situation, sometimes they don't."

It was Marriner who took the whistle at Chelsea, and missed the ball with Pereira's high-heeled boots.

90min Football page editor - Scott Saunders - said he was "surprised" that Man Utd was not awarded a penalty in this situation. Saunders recalled the situation when Man Utd was awarded a penalty because the Real Sociedad player shot the ball into the foot of midfielder Lisandro Martinez and then bounced on his arm. "However, the situation where Bella-Kotchap used her hand to play the ball was not penalized. Amazing," he wrote on Twitter.

The Manchester Evening News' chief writer, Samuel Luckhurst, also said that referee Taylor's performance was "unreliable". "Mr. Taylor also only added one minute in the first half, while dead ball situations took up to five minutes," commented Luckhurst.

"There is no doubt that Man Utd deserved the penalty," Ten Hag said after the game. "But I don't understand why the referee doesn't give a free kick, especially in the handball phase."

Many times during the match, Man Utd players put pressure on the referee after every decision that was not in the favor of the homeowner. However, "Red Devils" could not score in the absence of people, accepting a 0-0 draw. They still hold the third place after round 27 of the English Premier League.

Referee Taylor 45 years old, born in Manchester, has been in charge of the English Premier League since 2010, starting in the final of the UEFA Nations League 2021 and the FIFA Club World Cup 2022. He used to be a disadvantage to Man Utd when lining up the fence. The team's position is too far from defender Lucas Digne's free kick to score Aston Villa's goal on November 6, 2022 at Villa Park. Later, the British arbitration panel (PGMOL) admitted that it was a wrong decision of Taylor.

Referee Marriner 52 years old, has held the whistle in the English Premier League since 2005, once caught the 2013 FA Cup final. He was VAR when Man Utd beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Old Trafford on February 4, and had an impact. Referee made Casemiro receive a direct red card because he was accused of strangling midfielder Will Hughes. After this match, De Gea mistakenly criticized the referee when he posted on Twitter a video of coach Jose Mourinho once saying: "If I speak out, I will be in big trouble".