Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche led the forceful complaints against Casemiro’s opening goal for Manchester United on Saturday, claiming the decisive corner should not have been awarded during a “farcical” scenario.
For Forest, it was all too familiar. The Tricky Trees have been deceived by decisions from assistant referees on consecutive weekends. Bournemouth’s Marcus Tavernier scored directly from a corner which should not have been awarded last Sunday and replays suggest that Nicolò Savona kept the ball in play in the first half of this weekend’s visit from United. Dyche was in no doubt.
“It’s not inconclusive,” the Forest boss fumed to after watching his side battle out a 2–2 draw. “I’ve seen it back.”
Referee Darren England deferred to the judgement of his assistant Akil Howson, who signalled for a corner from the opposite side of the pitch. Casemiro headed United in front from that set piece.
“Of course you can argue about us dealing with it, but the point is it’s the wrong decision,” Dyche bemoaned in his postmatch press conference. “What’s even worse is that the assistant referee has given it from 75 yards away, behind the view of the goal. Apparently he can see it.
“We can clearly see the ball hanging over the line. Whether it’s three-quarters or not is irrelevant, the fact is it’s not out. It’s really disappointing.”
Dyche called for VAR to intervene but the video assisted officials in Stockley Park cannot rule on corner kicks. There has been talk from the game’s lawmakers about extending VAR’s remit to consider second yellow cards ahead of next summer’s World Cup. Premier League referees chief Howard Webb has previously expressed reluctance to empower VAR even further—“less is more” is his preferred stance—and so it appears highly unlikely that corners will ever be reviewed from afar.
“It’s something that needs looking at,” Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White insisted, continuing the theme of recriminations, “it has cost us two extra points today.”
