Ferdinand: 'Disgraceful' to not give Man United penalty at Chelsea

Rio Ferdinand slams ‘DISGRACEFUL’ decision by Stuart Attwell not to award Manchester United a penalty at Chelsea after Callum Hudson-Odoi’s handball

  • Referee Stuart Attwell chose not to award a penalty to Man United at Chelsea 
  • Callum Hudson-Odoi was alleged to have handled inside the box on Sunday 
  • Attwell looked at the VAR monitor but decided not to award the penalty
  • Rio Ferdinand angrily disagreed with the decision not the give the spot kick 

Rio Ferdinand has slammed the Premier League officials for failing to give Manchester United a penalty at Chelsea for after the ball struck the hand of Callum Hudson-Odoi. 

In the first-half of Sunday’s Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge, the Chelsea winger appeared to touch the ball with his hand inside his own penalty area while under pressure from a Mason Greenwood challenge.

Referee Stuart Attwell was instructed by the VAR officials at Stockley Park to check the pitchside monitor and the official opted not to award the spot kick to United despite several protests from the visitors.  

Rio Ferdinand slammed the officials’ decision not to give Man United a penalty at Cheslea

Callum Hudson-Odoi (right) was alleged to have handled inside his penalty box on Sunday

When asked about the incident, Ferdinand told the Vibe with FIVE podcast: ‘We should have had a penalty. I don’t know what’s going on with these rules, referees and stuff like that. 

‘I don’t know how you go to the screen and look at the screen and not give the penalty. It doesn’t make sense.

‘I saw it the first time in real time and shouted “Penalty!” in my front room. How he’s not seeing it and giving it and the people at Stockley Park aren’t going “give that penalty now”…

Stuart Attwell looked at the incident on the VAR monitor but chose not to award the penalty

‘There nothing they can tell me that will change my mind that it should be a penalty. It’s a disgrace.’

The controversy surrounding the Hudson-Odoi incident was dramatically increased after United defender Luke Shaw claimed that Atwell did not to award his team a penalty because the official wanted to avoid a backlash.

Shaw told Sky Sports in a post-match interview: ‘The referee even said to H (Harry Maguire), “If I say it’s a penalty, it’s going to cause a lot of talk about it after”, so I don’t know what happened there. 

‘Harry said that they got told it was a penalty by VAR.’ 

Attwell told Man United captain Harry Maguire (right) he did not award the penalty so he could avoid a backlash, according to Luke Shaw

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appeared to back up what Shaw said regarding Maguire’s conversation with Atwell on Sunday and even criticised the Chelsea media team for trying to influence the officials to stop giving United penalties. 

When asked about Attwell said to United players, Solskjaer replied: ‘I can’t say, because that’s not going to be good for him.

‘I don’t want to cause controversy, it’s not right is it? It’s all the outside influences, VAR talk before the game on Harry [Maguire] when they put that on the website. Cheeky.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer backed Shaw’s claims in his post-match interview with Sky Sports

Ferdinand supported Shaw (right) for reporting Maguire’s claims to the media

‘That’s influencing referees. You can read what they’re saying about Harry Maguire and putting pressure on referees to give penalties against us.’ 

It was announced on Monday that both Shaw and Solskjaer would not receive a FA punishment for their comments and Ferdinand defended the United left-back for his comments to Sky.

The former United defender added: ‘I think you should say what you hear and if you hear that you say it. 

‘I would take what Luke Shaw said because it was the heat of the moment and there ain’t no grey areas. He said, “this is what I heard, this is what was said.”‘




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