Howard Webb admits Man Utd on wrong end of big VAR error in Brentford loss

Referees' chief Howard Webb has admitted to Manchester United that they were the victim of a huge mistake during their 3-1 defeat to Brentford last weekend, per new reports. United suffered a crushing loss in west London that heaped further pressure on manager Ruben Amorim, but the club believed they were on the receiving end of poor officiating.

Bruno Fernandes saw his penalty saved by Caoimhin Kelleher following Nathan Collins' foul on Bryan Mbeumo, which had offered them a chance to make it 2-2. Collins was rescued by his keeper and struck it fortunate on two counts as he avoided a red card for hauling back the United attacker inside the penalty area as he prepared to shoot.

Referee Craig Pawson chose not to send him off and his call was backed by VAR, with the Premier League Match Centre later issuing a statement to clarify their reasoning. "The referee's call of penalty was checked and confirmed by VAR - with Collins deemed to have pulled Mbeumo back," it read. "VAR also checked the referee's call of yellow card to Collins - and deemed that Mbeumo wasn't in control of the ball."

That reasoning came under heavy scrutiny and with Brentford keeping their full 11 men, they scored again in stoppage time to secure a 3-1 victory. United felt hard done by and theDaily Mail reports that they contacted the Professional Game Match Officials seeking clarification.

United's top brass, CEO Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox, have since received a response from PGMO chief Webb, who admitted that Pawson and the VAR had made an error and Collins should have been sent off.

This isn't the first time this season that Webb has admitted to a high-profile gaffe, and former Premier League referee Mark Halsey was left gobsmacked by this one.

Halsey said: "The statement from the Match Centre said that Mbeumo did not have control of the ball. It doesn't say in law about having the ball under control.

"It's about the likelihood of keeping control of the ball. In my view, the Match Centre statement was absolute rubbish and it was a clear, clear denial of a goalscoring opportunity."

Webb also fronted up this week to back the decision to overturn Arsenal's penalty against Newcastle when Viktor Gyokeres tangled with Nick Pope. "The VAR checks the penalty," Webb clarified on Premier League's Match Officials Mic'd Up show.

"When he does that, he clearly sees that Gyokeres gets to the ball, nudges it a bit forward but then, crucially, Nick Pope also gets a very clear touch on the ball as he steps forward with that right foot and alters the direction that the ball is going in. That hadn't been recognised on the pitch by the referee."