Alan Shearer rips into Craig Pawson after ‘ridiculous’ incident in Man United vs Man City: ‘That is nonsense’

Alan Shearer has torn into Craig Pawson following an incident that occurred during Saturday’s Manchester derby.

Manchester United emerged victorious over their bitter rivals, as second-half goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu sealed a 2-0 win during the opening game of Michael Carrick’s interim tenure.

Carrick recalled Kobbie Mainoo to the Manchester United XI after he had been on the fringes of the squad for several months under Ruben Amorim, and he caught the eye with his display in the middle of the park.

United’s victory leaves them hot on the heels of Liverpool in the final Champions League spot, while Manchester City are now seven points behind leaders Arsenal.

Alan Shearer left scathing with Diogo Dalot controversy

Diogo Dalot was lucky to escape a red card after an 11th-minute challenge on Jeremy Doku, in which he lunged in on the visiting winger.

The Portuguese appeared to plant his studs into the shin of the City star, but was only shown a yellow card by on-field referee Anthony Taylor, with VAR official Craig Pawson then agreeing that the incident was not worthy of a red card.

The Premier League have since released a statement via their Match Centre account on X, which revealed that the contact from Dalot had been deemed to be “glancing” and not using “excessive force.”

However, Alan Shearer has been left scathing by that assessment of the tackle, and he made his feelings on Pawson’s decision clear during Saturday night’s Match of the Day.

“There’s no doubt about it. It’s as clear a red card as you’re going to see,” the former Newcastle United hero said.

“They said that it was deemed to be glancing, that is nonsense. That is as straight, as full on and as high as you’re ever going to see.

“He’s endangering the opponent; it’s a straight red card. I understand why the referee hasn’t given it, but you’ve got two guys in VAR who don’t think that’s a red card. That’s ridiculous.”

Anthony Taylor ‘let down’ in Dalot incident

Former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee Keith Hackett exclusively told Football Insider that he feels that Taylor was “let down” by Pawson on VAR, and that the on-field official didn’t receive the help that he needed in the moment.

Hackett said that the challenge fell firmly within the grounds of serious foul play, but also suggested that Taylor’s positioning at the time may mean that he didn’t have the luxury of the same view that the TV cameras caught.

However, in that moment, it is the job of the supporting VAR referee to be his eyes and ears on the pitch, and in this instance, it is clear that Pawson has hung his colleague out to dry to some extent.

Former officials and players have been quick to condemn the mistake in the aftermath of the game, and that is as clear an indication as any that the wrong decision was reached.

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