Panel Concludes Amad Penalty Decision Was Correct

Premier League’s Review of Key Incident

The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel has determined that both the on-field referee and the video assistant referee (VAR) made the right decision by not giving a penalty to Manchester United’s Amad Diallo during their match against Bournemouth last month.

Amad fell in the penalty area following what appeared to be a two-handed push from Bournemouth defender Adrien Truffert, but referee Stuart Attwell dismissed the penalty appeals.

Almost immediately, Bournemouth went on to score, with Ryan Christie finding the net in the 67th minute, transforming the game from a potential 2-0 lead for United to a 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium on March 20. The VAR, Craig Pawson, reviewed the incident and concluded there was no clear error in the initial decision.

The KMI Panel voted 3-2 against awarding the penalty, stating that while Truffert’s actions carried some risk, the contact was insufficient to meet the criteria for a foul.

Mixed Reactions on Decision

“It’s as obvious as you can get”

Manchester United was incensed by the decision, signaling their intent to submit a formal complaint to the Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) regarding the inconsistency in penalty decisions during the match.

Manager Michael Carrick expressed confusion over the disparity in officiating, particularly regarding another penalty awarded to United for a similar holding offense. He noted: “The one given to Cunha is very similar to what happened with Amad. It’s hard to understand how one is a penalty and the other is not. It’s evident—this was a significant moment in the game.”

Match analyst Alan Shearer echoed Carrick’s sentiments, stating, “You can’t justify not awarding another penalty after giving two earlier in the game.”

The KMI Panel had unanimously supported the penalty awarded to Cunha, stating that “Jimenez clearly pulled Cunha’s shirt in a non-footballing manner.”

Consistency Concerns

The KMI Panel’s judgments are specifically focused on individual incidents, without taking similar cases into account when determining consistency. A contentious challenge involving United’s Harry Maguire, which resulted in a penalty and a red card, was upheld with a 4-1 vote. Bournemouth’s Junior Kroupi converted the penalty to equalize at 2-2.

Another incident involving the same players early in the match was unanimously deemed a non-foul.

During Gameweek 31, it was determined by a 3-2 vote that a penalty should have been awarded to Chelsea against Everton, despite the match being 3-0 in Everton’s favor at that stage. The incident involved Everton defender James Tarkowski, who was noted to have initiated contact with opponent Wesley Fofana.

In contrast, no VAR intervention was endorsed for that situation, highlighting the ongoing discussions surrounding officiating standards in the league.