Manchester United became the first Premier League team affected by a controversial rule change as Jean-Philippe Mateta was allowed to retake his penalty following an accidental double-touch in their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Manchester United have been told they were harshly treated after Jean-Philippe Mateta was permitted to retake his penalty, despite his own error, during their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon. Ruben Amorim’s men netted twice after the half-time break to secure a crucial three points, although not before drama surrounding Mateta’s spot-kick.
A clumsy challenge by Leny Yoro on the Palace striker handed him an opportunity to break the deadlock from the penalty spot. Mateta coolly converted his effort, with Senne Lammens diving the wrong way, but replays revealed the ball had accidentally brushed his left foot.
VAR directed Rob Jones to announce to the stadium that Mateta would be permitted to retake the penalty. He said: “After review, Crystal Palace No.14 touches the ball accidentally twice as the ball goes into the net. The final decision is a retaken penalty.”
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Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has since shared his own verdict on the incident via Sky Sports show Ref Watch. “This is a first in the Premier League because the law was amended because of [Julian] Alvarez in the Champions League,” he explained.
“What they decided now is because it’s accidental and he’s scored it’s a retake. If he missed, it would’ve been an indirect free-kick. I think it’s only fair. He doesn’t mean to slip.”
Nevertheless, Jay Bothroyd has explained why United should feel aggrieved by Mateta being granted a second opportunity after his blunder. “I don’t agree with that,” he added.
“You step up to take a penalty and you plant your foot and touch the ball, it’s bad technique. If you take a bad touch, it’s just a bad touch. He’s planted his foot ahead of the ball and has cut across it.
“That’s his fault. He shouldn’t get the opportunity to take it again for his mistake.”
Had this situation occurred last season, it would have been deemed a missed penalty by Mateta, but Julian Alvarez’s contentious double-touch in Atletico Madrid’s Champions League shoot-out defeat to Real Madrid prompted Ifab to enter talks with UEFA.
The regulation has since been amended to specify if an accidental ‘double-touch’ spot-kick finds the net, then it should be retaken rather than disallowed. Fortunately, it didn’t prove too crucial, with Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount both finding their mark to swing the match in United’s direction.
The triumph at Selhurst Park provided the ideal response to their home defeat against Everton on Monday night, despite enjoying a man advantage for more than an hour. With Palace having featured in France just days before, Amorim acknowledged that factor contributed to their success.
He said: “It was small details that helped. The pace and intensity was better in the second half. I could see that Palace were getting tired at the end of the first half and knew they would suffer if we scored.
“We went on to control the game well away from our goal and in the opposition’s half. We controlled the game well, but just have to be careful about what we did in the first half.”
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