‘Any other club!’ - fans rage as Man Utd ‘get away’ with Maguire handball

Jacque Talbot

• 16 Apr 2023 11:30 CDT
• 4 min read

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire got away with one against Nottingham Forest.

At the City Ground, as the ball came in from a cross for the home side, the defender was seen hitting the ball on his arm. The referee opted not to point to the spot - the official clearly not seeing the incident. But what’s more baffling is that he was not informed to go and check the pitchside monitor either.

In the meantime, fans have blasted the refereeing standards once again.

How is this not a penalty? 😳

Maguire’s arm well away from his body. VAR check & say nothing doing.

One rule for Man Utd…#NOTMUN #NFFC #MUFC pic.twitter.com/Xs3Ru0sv6w

— NUFCblog.co.uk (@NUFCblogcouk) April 16, 2023

Maguire hand to Awoniyi’s face. While on a booking. After the handball in his own area. #NFFC

— Callum Castel (@callumcasteln) April 16, 2023

The handball rule is a total mess. So little consistency, hardly anyone actually knows what constitutes one

— Jordan Elgott (@JElgott) April 16, 2023

Shouldn’t that be a penalty for Forest? A floated corner, Maguire’s arm is stretched out in an unnatural position and it hits his arm? I don’t really know what constitutes to a handball now, but that looked like one

— luke (@louorns) April 16, 2023

Whether you think Maguire was a handball or not, the handball rule is fuckin mental that it's literally two different rules whether you're "attacking" or "defending"

Just think about how fucked up that is. 😅🤪🤷🏻‍♂️ #NFOMUN https://t.co/iZA5ftr8vq

— G. Pirlo (@GingerPirlo_) April 16, 2023

Clear handball from Maguire.

Man Utd gets that penalty from VAR all day long.

Daylight robbery again against #NFFC

— Jax (@CarnorJax87) April 16, 2023

Ten Hag on striker search

Ahead of the contest, Erik ten Hag was asked online about his search for a striker in the upcoming transfer window.

He told Sky Sports: "Everyone is different, obviously, but for a striker the main thing is to score goals by any method, that is so far ahead of anything else," Ten Hag explained to Sky Sports.

"We need a striker who scores goals because we have ability in the team to put balls in the box, so we need a striker to finish.

"We have to build a new future and we need a striker who not only scores goals but contributes by linking up play very well and pressing, which is very important."