Man Utd take official action against Stuart Attwell who has now cost them 4 points this season | OneFootball

Manchester United have decided to report match official Stuart Attwell, accusing him of adopting double standards in Friday’s draw at the Vitality Stadium.

The Red Devils had to chance to consolidate their third place in the table before their Champions League rivals step foot on the pitch this weekend.

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Michael Carrick’s men took a slim lead on two occasions, but they weren’t able to maintain it. However, they felt they were impeded by Attwell’s controversial calls.

Stuart Attwell under scrutiny following inconsistent officiating in Bournemouth vs Man Utd

The referee started the second half on the right foot, pointing towards the spot when Alex Jimenez pulled Matheus Cunha’s shirt inside his own box. This stonewall penalty was an incredibly easy call for the 43-year-old, and Bruno Fernandes converted it to give Man Utd a deserved lead.

Nevertheless, a few minutes later, the Warwickshire native waved play on when Adrien Truffert pushed Amad Diallo off balance, also inside the box.

A second penalty kick would have allowed MUFC to open a two-goal cushion. Instead, the Cherries went on to grab the equaliser through Ryan Christie.

United retook the lead thanks to an own-goal, but their joy was short-lived due to another debatable refereeing call.

Harry Maguire hauled down Evanislon, and Attwell was quick to signal a spot-kick for Bournemouth, and sent off the MUFC veteran, who was the last defender.

Many fans and pundits argued that Maguire’s challenge wasn’t too dissimilar to Truffer’s, but the match official made contrasting calls.

Man Utd take a stance against unjust officiating

According to the Daily Mail journalist Mike Keegan, United were left furious by the incident, and have decided to file an official complaint, reporting Friday evening’s officiating to the PGMOL.

The source also lists a series of dubious calls that went against Man Utd earlier this season, including the failure to send off Brentford’s Nathan Collins for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity, which was an almost identical case to Maguire’s dismissal on Friday, and the failure to award them a penalty at Wolves.

Nevertheless, the most curious case on the list is Lisandro Martinez’s disallowed goal against Burnley at Turf Moor in January (with Darren Fletcher acting as a caretaker), which United felt should have stood. That’s because the match official who ruled out the goal was none other than Attwell. He had also failed to spot a nasty and deliberate stomp from Kyle Walker on Patrick Dorgu during the same contest.

While Man Utd are taking a strong stance by launching this formal complaint, the damage has already been done on the pitch. Hence, there’s little PGMOL chief Howard Webb can do, perhaps other than avoid appointing Attwell for United’s games for the rest of the season.