Pgmo Admits Error On Manchester United Goal After Mbeumo Handball

pgmo admitted on Monday that Manchester United's second goal in a 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest should not have stood after Bryan Mbeumo handled the ball in the buildup. Howard Webb spoke to both clubs after the match to acknowledge the misjudgement, putting the focus back on how the handball law was applied when the goal was allowed to stand.

Webb Calls Forest And United

Matheus Cunha scored the goal in question after the ball hit Mbeumo's arm, and referee Michael Salisbury kept the decision after being sent to the pitch-side monitor by the VAR. The VAR had felt Mbeumo controlling the ball between his arm and body was enough to rule it out for handball, but Salisbury judged the contact accidental and stayed with his original call.

Webb's Monday call to Forest and United turned the moment into an open admission from pgmo, not just a debate over interpretation. The issue sits inside the Premier League handball law, where accidental contact leading directly to a goal has been handled with a more lenient approach in English football after feedback from clubs, players, managers and fans.

Mbeumo Contact And VAR

Gary Neville did not leave much room for doubt during co-commentary. He said, "That is a shocker in every way," then added, "Honestly, that is ridiculous." He also said, "The VAR has been clear: the player has handballed it," before noting, "He looked at it for three minutes and the referee has looked at it for another minute."

Neville went further: "I can't believe what I have just seen." He said, "There will be nobody watching that game who plays football or who watches football who will think that goal should have been awarded," and added, "It feels obvious to disallow." His final line on the incident was, "He (Mbeumo) almost wedged the ball under his arm."

Salisbury Keeps The Goal

That sequence left Salisbury going against the view in Stockley Park, where the expectation was that Mbeumo's contact should be treated as handball. Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher said Mbeumo cushioned the ball with his arm and gained an advantage, reinforcing the argument that the goal should have been chalked off.

For Forest, the immediate takeaway is simple: the decision has now been acknowledged as wrong, even though it still stood inside United's 3-2 win on Sunday. For United, the goal remains part of the scoreline; for pgmo, Monday's admission leaves the handball call as the match's defining error rather than a disputed gray area.