Man United immediately handed VAR transcript as players left furious against Fulham

Manchester United players screamed for a penalty after the ball struck the arm of Fulham defender Calvin Bassey – they now have a verdict why it was not given

The Premier League released a transcript of the VAR studio’s process analysing the moment Manchester United believed they earned a penalty against Fulham. United were minutes away from a third defeat in a row in all competitions at Craven Cottage.

Not long after Lisandro Martinez bundled a strange own goal into his own net, the Argentine clipped the ball onto the arm of Fulham defender Calvin Bassey. The Cottagers’ ace had his hands raised to his face when the ball struck his wrist, leaving the United players screaming for a penalty.

Despite the ball hitting his arm, neither Peter Bankes on the pitch nor the officials in the VAR studio believed it was a penalty.

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After the match, United defenders argued with Bankes about the incident, while Michael Carrick was also seen speaking with the official on the pitch after the game.

The club have since been given a VAR verdict from the Premier League Match Centre, who posted a transcript of the decision process from the studio. It read: “The referee’s call of no penalty to Manchester United for a potential handball offence by Bassey was checked and confirmed by VAR.

“AR1: ‘It’s close to his body – it has hit but his arm is close to his body’. REF: ‘On-field decision is play on’. VAR: ‘Arms close to his body. As seen – confirming the on-field decision to play on, exactly as described on-field’.”

Analysing the incident post-match for Sky Sports, former United striker Louis Saha remarked: “It’s 50-50. You don’t know now with the rules.

“Your natural instinct is to protect your face because you know you are going to be hit. But it’s different rules every weekend. Some referees will blow while some others will say ‘No go on’.”

In the moment, Gary Neville believed Bassey was fortunate, as he presented the referee with a call to make by lifting his arms. He said: “It’s strange for a defender to put their hands up, because they know the referee will have to make a decision. Bassey is asking for trouble.”

United managed to rescue a point at Craven Cottage thanks to Matheus Cunha’s deflected effort in the 89th minute. A loss in west London would have represented a third successive defeat across all competitions for United.

Carrick told BBC Sport: “We want more points, we’re going to have a spell where it’s not quite going for you and we’ve had a spell of that where small things have ended up as big things.

“We don’t think things are perfect by any means. We need to win football matches. The supporters were top-drawer again today and we have to give them something to keep shouting about.”