Premier League backs referee as Tarkowski penalty call against Man Utd upheld

The Premier League has confirmed that referee John Brooks and his VAR officials made the correct call in denying Manchester United a penalty during their 2-2 draw at Everton on 6 September, ruling that James Tarkowski fairly dispossessed Matheus Cunha inside the box.

The incident centred on a late first-half chance created by Marcus Rashford, who drove into the Everton penalty area and rolled the ball back to Cunha on the edge of the six-yard box. As the Brazilian forward shaped to shoot, Tarkowski made a last-ditch challenge that sparked furious penalty appeals from United’s players and travelling supporters. VAR reviewed the incident but declined to overturn the on-field decision.

The Premier League’s panel of refereeing experts subsequently examined the footage and were unanimous in their conclusion. In their official statement, they said: “The referee’s call of no penalty was supported as Tarkowski clearly and fairly won the ball through Cunha’s legs.”

The ruling comes in the same week that United received a formal apology from Premier League refereeing body Pro Ref over a separate VAR controversy — the decision to allow Erling Haaland’s goal to stand in the 1-0 Manchester derby defeat on 15 September. The on-field flag for offside was overturned on the basis that Patrick Dorgu’s outstretched leg had played Haaland on, but officials failed to account for Enzo Fernandez being in an offside position and interfering with play. Pro Ref acknowledged an “error of judgment” by the VAR team in that instance.

The Everton match itself had seen Bryan Mbeumo break the deadlock for United shortly after half-time, curling a precise low effort from the edge of the area, before the game ended level at 2-2. The penalty controversy was one of several flashpoints in a difficult run of results for Ruben Amorim’s side, with the back-to-back VAR disputes drawing renewed scrutiny to the standard of officiating in the Premier League.