Some of the Norwich City fanbase have been left enraged by the penalty Manchester United were given as a result of a foul on Daniel James in their clash on Sunday at Carrow Road.
United won two penalties in the game but Canaries’ goalkeeper Tim Krul ended up stopping both of them. This gave people flashbacks of the Netherlands’ penalty shootout win over Costa Rica in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
But the manner in which United won the first penalty hasn’t gone down with the Norwich fans. They believe Ben Godfrey never brought the Welshman down and it wasn’t enough to be called a foul:
Not a foul for me but even if the VAR team think it may be, the fact that they reviewed it for so long highlights it wasn’t clear and obvious.
— Michael Brigham (@briglar) October 28, 2019
What an absolute shambles!!!
— Shaun O’Brien (@ShaunOBrien86) October 28, 2019
The ref was poor for not booking mctominay aswell after he celebrated in front of us !
— phil woodger (@woodger46) October 28, 2019
simply ridiculous
— Sam (@sikingthegreat1) October 28, 2019
Despite Krul saving both the penalties – one from Anthony Martial and one from Marcus Rashford, Norwich did concede three times. They lost 3-1, as the aforementioned duo ended up scoring a goal each after the missed spot-kicks.
Onel Hernandez managed to pull one back for the Canaries late in the game, but it only proved to be a consolation.
This was Daniel Farke men’s fourth loss in their last five games. The last time they won a game in the Premier League was last month – against Manchester City at home.
Some Norwich fans believe that VAR has been working against them in recent weeks:
These decisions would never in a million years be given to us had it been the other way round. That’s what needs explaining but as usual the FA would just sweep it under the carpet saying it’s just sour grapes. Officials aren’t corrupt but they are bias (usually unintentionally)
— Greg (@GPS1963) October 28, 2019
VAR like all officials before it will always lean towards big clubs, it would’ve been headlines if they weren’t given! #VAR
— trebor63 (@TreborTrevor) October 28, 2019
It was a defeat for the club, but this game marked Hernandez’s first Premier League goal. It also made him the first Cuban to score in a Premier League game in the competition’s history.
The 26-year-old joined Hernandez Norwich from 2. Bundesliga side Eintracht Braunschweig in January 2018 when Farke’s men were in the Championship.
Last season, the winger made 40 appearances in the Championship and scored eight goals, assisting ten times too.
What do we think?
While it doesn’t matter since Krul did save the penalty, James went down in a rather theatrical fashion to win the spot-kick. He has been accused of simulating before, as evident from the yellow card that he received against Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this season.
Having said that, the VAR isn’t really the problem in this case.