REUTERS/Jon Super
Manchester United were awarded a controversial goal during their victory over Ipswich Town on Sunday afternoon at Old Trafford.
United fell behind just before the half-hour mark when Leif Davis expertly converted Abdul Fatawu's cutback. This lead didn't last long, however, as the Red Devils levelled the scoring 10 minutes later when Mateus Cunha pounced on an Ipswich slip-up to slide Bruno Fernandes in on goal, and the Portuguese playmaker made no mistake, producing an emphatic finish.
Shortly into the second half, Harry Maguire was the architect of the contentious moment in question. Taking the ball down on the edge of the Ipswich area, seemingly by using his hands, the England defender's subsequent shot took a huge deflection off Jacob Greaves and crashed into the back of the net, giving the home side the lead.
Michael Carrick's outfit went on to add three more goals through Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo, but supporters of the Tractor Boys have pointed to the dubious awarding of the second goal as the match's turning point. The Premier League have now issued an explanation for why this goal was allowed to stand.
Premier League Issue Statement Over Man Utd's Second Goal vs Ipswich
Manchester United's Harry Maguire strokes his chin and thinks during the warm up away against Brentford
For 55 minutes, Ipswich were competitive at Old Trafford. They opened the scoring with an exceptional goal and could have added to their tally with several other promising moves.
However, the clash turned on its head when United took the lead via a goal which has sparked uproar online. The ball evidently touched Maguire's hand in the build-up, but a specific rule prevented the goal from being disallowed.
The Premier League Match Centre has revealed that the goal stood because Maguire wasn't the immediate goalscorer.
The obvious deflection off Greaves essentially prevented VAR from intervening and ruling it out.
More to follow.