Anthony Taylor decided to give the goal on the pitch but replays showed that the ball had indeed struck Watmore’s hand before Matt Crooks scored with the final touch. Video assistant referee Stuart Atwell decided to give the goal regardless and he deemed the hand ball to have been accidental. Had Watmore scored himself, the goal would have been ruled out, but as Crooks scored the goal, it did not get chalked off and the hand ball was ruled accidental.
Chris Wilder spoke on the decision and said he himself expected the goal to be ruled out. Wilder said:
Manchester United Ralf Rangnick manager speaks about the controversial handball decision
Manchester United were furious at the decision, but for Middlesbrough, this turned out to be exactly the gift they needed. They struggled to face united for the entirety of the match before the equalizer, but the goal seemed to have filled the players with newfound energy. Middlesbrough started getting into the game and managed to hold off the hosts in normal time as well as extra time before winning 8-7 in the penalty shootout.
Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick was shocked as to how the goal was not ruled out. He said:
The Red Devils completely dominated Middlesbrough but simply did not take their chances. Instances like Ronaldo’s penalty miss and Bruno Fernandes hitting the post while aiming for an empty net came back to bite Manchester United as they finally perished to Anthony Elanga’s penalty miss. Although the equalizer they conceded may be controversial, Manchester United have only themselves to blame for this loss.
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