Referees chief pats VAR on back but says there was still one blooper in Man United penalty decision

Howard Webb - the head of Premier League refereeing - has said Andre Onana should have been booked for recklessness after conceding a penalty in Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Burnley at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The United shot-stopper was guilty of conceding a spot-kick in the closing stages after clattering into Burnley forward Zeki Amdouni. Onana attempted to come and claim a loose ball in the air, misjudged it, and ended up smashing into Amdouni's head.

On-field referee John Brooks did not point to the penalty spot, instead signalling for a Clarets corner. However, VAR official Peter Bankes told Brooks to delay the restart, recommending him to go over to the pitchside monitor and review the decision.

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After reviewing the decision, Brooks decided to point to the spot, handing Burnley an opportunity to cancel out Antony's opener and claw themselves level. Amdouni stepped up, sent Onana the wrong way and sealed a vital point for the visitors in their quest to beat the drop.

The incident was almost identical to the one where Onana clattered Wolves striker Sasa Kalajdzic on the opening weekend of the season back in August. The United shot-stopper won none of the ball, but somehow escaped conceding a penalty.

Comparing the weekend's incident with that one, Webb said: "Like we talked about earlier, when we make an error, we look at why and what we can do better. We share all of that learning with our group, having discussed it with them.

"And we acknowledge that, that situation in week number one at Old Trafford should have led to a VAR intervention and didn't. This is very similar - Onana coming out and not making contact with the ball, making heavy contact with his opponent, not seen by the referee on the field. He sees [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka head the ball away but doesn't see the contact on Amdouni and the VAR sees that pretty quickly.

"It's a clear error not to award the penalty kick, and therefore recommends that the referee looks at it at the screen for himself and sees that heavy contact. And it is a penalty kick and there's no support for non-award of a penalty.

"Hence the reason it's a clear error. And we called it correctly and it's pretty efficient as well. So another good use of VAR. And thankfully this one was called correctly."

Giving his verdict on the scenario alongside former United striker Michael Owen, Webb was asked by the former England man if Onana should have been sent-off. Admitting a red card would have been a stretch too far, he believes he should have been cautioned by Brookes.

"I think there's a recklessness to it," Webb added. "On the day he wasn't cautioned. I think that that would have been the right outcome to show a yellow card as well, for a reckless action.

"I don't think it's serious foul play. I don't think there's excessive force or brutality in that challenge, but there's an element of recklessness. And that would normally lead to a yellow card."