Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has voiced strong disapproval of the controversial Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decision that led to Jarrod Bowen’s decisive penalty, securing a 2-1 victory for West Ham over Manchester United at the London Stadium on Sunday.
Late in the game, United seemed poised to claim a hard-earned point until VAR Michael Oliver recommended an on-field review for a penalty following minor contact between Matthijs de Ligt and Danny Ings.
Despite the seemingly minimal impact, referee David Coote upheld the penalty after consulting VAR, and Bowen confidently converted the opportunity, deepening United’s recent struggles.
Expressing his frustration, Ten Hag said,
“In football, the best team doesn’t always win.
There was a clear and obvious standard for VAR intervention, yet it didn’t seem to apply here.”
He referenced prior decisions, particularly in a recent match against Spurs where he felt VAR should have intervened on a missed red card for Bruno Fernandes.
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Ten Hag questioned whether Coote might have been influenced by Oliver’s reputation as a senior referee.
“I’m not here to criticize individuals, but rather the process itself,” he explained.
“It took nearly three minutes to make the call, which in my view, required more decisiveness and personality to overturn.”
The loss saw Manchester United slip to 14th in the Premier League standings, with just three wins from nine matches, a position Ten Hag attributes partly to misfortune.
“Right now, luck isn’t on our side, but it’s about the team, and eventually, I believe it will turn if we keep playing like we have in recent matches,”
he remarked, highlighting promising performances against Brentford, Fenerbahce, and now West Ham.
As they prepare for a Carabao Cup clash with Leicester City on Wednesday, followed by a Premier League match against Chelsea on Nov. 3, Ten Hag remains confident that United can reverse their fortunes and regain momentum in the coming weeks.
