Why Manchester United’s disallowed goal against Fulham was the correct decision

Manchester United escaped a sticky situation against Fulham in their Saturday fixture as captain Bruno Fernandes rescued the Red Devils with a late goal.

Fernandes’ 91st-minute goal was enough for Manchester United to scrape a 1-0 win, but a major talking point from the match was the decision to deny Manchester United an earlier opening goal.

After just 11 minutes of Manchester United’s encounter with Fulham, the Red Devils thought they had taken the lead when Scott McTominay finished off a freekick routine that went through Fernandes and a cutback from Alejandro Garnacho.

The VAR officials decided that Harry Maguire had been offside in the build-up, despite the defender not touching the ball before the goal was scored.

However, fans on social media have disagreed with the decision to rule out the goal, arguing that since Maguire did not touch the ball, he was not directly interfering with the eventual goal.

While these supporters will be expecting an apology letter from the Premier League’s refereeing body, PGMOL, that apology is unlikely to ever come since the goal was correctly ruled out by referee John Brooks.

Since Maguire was directly in the path of the Fulham defender closest to the ball and Garnacho, who eventually assisted the goal, the England international could be said to be interfering with play by stopping the Cottager’s last man from making an interception.

But for Maguire’s influence, it is unlikely that the ball would have gotten to Garnacho, meaning the former club captain played an active part in the eventual goal by McTominay.

The offside call was applied in the same way a goal could be ruled out when a player obstructs a goalkeeper’s line of sight, even when they do not directly touch the ball.

Therefore, the decision to rule out the goal was correct, despite the outcry of Manchester United fans.