EVEN IN inconsequential, end-of-season fixtures when the sun is out and an inflatable beach ball is flying around, VAR still dominates.
Manchester United’s second goal against Nottingham Forest and referee Michael Salisbury’s call not to rule it out will merely fuel the visitors’ already staunch paranoia about Premier League officiating.
Forest, who saw it fit to post their grievances on X and once enlisted Mark Clattenburg as a refereeing consultant, were incandescent with rage that Matheus Cunha’s strike stood.
The ball undeniably struck Bryan Mbeumo’s hand before his shot was blocked and Cunha tucked away the rebound.
Salisbury gave a goal but was advised to consult the pitchside monitor. After a three-minute wait, he stood by his call.
The official explanation was that Mbeumo’s handball was “accidental” yet most handballs are.
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Gary Neville, on co-commentary, was heckled by Forest fans and remains banned from the City Ground. He was astonished that Cunha’s strike was not chalked off.
Cue the now familiar rendition of “Premier League, corrupt as f**k” from the visiting section. All subsequent refereeing decisions that went Forest’s way were greeted with sarcastic cheers.
The Forest fans then chanted, “Are you Celtic in disguise?” – a reference to the unbelievable VAR call the Scottish champions benefited from at Motherwell in midweek.
Even on a day that Bruno Fernandes equalled Kevin de Bruyne and Thierry Henry’s Premier League assists record for a season, VAR will dominate the fall-out.
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United’s home campaign ended on a high, with third place secured for only their fifth top-three finish since Sir Alex Ferguson headed upstairs in 2013.
Ferguson, who was taken ill at Old Trafford when he arrived for the Liverpool fixture a fortnight earlier, was absent again.
Casemiro’s name was chanted before he emerged from the tunnel on his farewell appearance. A banner draped down from the Stretford End, reading ‘Until death’ in Portuguese, with Casemiro patting the United crest.
It was less than five years ago that United fans in the nearby section unfurled a banner bearing the faces of Bryan Robson, Roy Keane and Eric Cantona with one word: standards.
It is a sign of how far the standards have fallen at United that Casemiro was afforded such adoration after a four-year career bookended by two good seasons, with United’s worst in 34 years and 51 years in between.
One fan, most likely in his 60s, donned the recently-released United home shirt for next season with Casemiro’s name printed on the back. Casemiro will not be pulling it on next season.
United players lined up to embrace Casemiro when he was substituted with ten minutes remaining. Forest, back in it after Morgan Gibbs-White’s tidy finish, were keen to ensure the contest did not descend into an exhibition.
Attention will shift onto who Casemiro’s replacement is and he was possibly pitted against him.
The 11-year age gap between Elliot Anderson and Casemiro showed when the Forest midfielder glided past the Brazilian, left on the turf just outside the United area.
United are long past the point of requiring auditions but Anderson made an impression. He bent it like Beckham for Morato’s second-half equaliser.
Casemiro was predictably treated to another blinkered rendition of “One more year” from the Stretford End. He won’t get one more year but Luke Shaw will.
The 30-year-old left back showed there is life in the old dog with a neatly-taken half-volley from Neco Williams’ mistimed header to put United ahead.
Shaw is out of contract next year yet has started all 37 of United’s Premier League matches this season. The increased workload of the Champions League next season demands that United recruit a new long-term left back.
Of more immediate interest to Shaw is Thomas Tuchel’s England squad announcement on Friday. Shaw has not been called up by the German but an injury-free season at centre back and left back is a compelling case for inclusion.
The leisurely pace of the first half was upped when Senne Lammens foiled Gibbs-White and United broke, with Fernandes and Cunha accelerating the breakaway that ended with Mbeumo rounding Matz Sels but angling the shot against the post.
Anderson’s set-piece prowess was evident with a crafty near-post free kick that Nicolas Dominguez glanced off target.
Mbeumo, without a goal since February 7, missed another glaring chance early in the second half when he endangered spectators in the Stretford End from Amad’s pull-back.
The Cameroonian had another opportunity from the cross that he squandered seconds before Cunha coolly cushioned the ball into the corner.
To widespread disbelief, Salisbury allowed the goal to stand. Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was not in the directors’ box, which was perhaps just as well.
Cunha had spared Mbeumo’s blushes, but not for long. Mbeumo was played in for another glorious chance yet skied another shot.
At the fifth time of asking, Mbeumo diverted Fernandes square pass into the net. Lammens raced up the length of the pitch, chiefly to congratulate Fernandes on equalling the record.
The masked Gibbs-White, protecting his recent facial injuries, capped an industrious display by changing the scoreboard again but United held on.
