The West Ham game was the one which finally ended Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag‘s tenure after two and a half years. And yet, that 2-1 defeat against not so great West Ham side (only two wins before that) marked so ironic end for the Dutch tactician. There were so many games during his tenure where he should have had the sack, like 7-0 thrashing against Liverpool in 2023 or 3-0 against the same team this season. Or a 4-0 defeat against Crystal Palace in May 2024. But it didn‘t, it happened against West Ham and the final detail of that game was the penalty for the Hammers which eventually resolved the match and ended Ten Hag‘s time at Old Trafford. And now we got the official confirmation from the referees – the decision was wrong.The Ten Hag files: an overweight unwelcome forward and four unfulfilled ‘unrealistic’ wishesReferees’ chief Howard Webb has reportedly admitted that awarding the stoppage-time penalty for West Ham was a mistake. Just after the game, Ten Hag said that the decision was ‘unfair and unjust’ and it turns out, he was right. The Times reported that Webb, the chief refereeing officer of the PGMOL, thinks that call was a mistake and has voiced that opinion. Webb has not yet publicly commented but is expected to be asked about it on the Mic’d Up show next week. Times also reported that the Key Match Incidents Panel, an independent body set up at the start of the 2022-23 season which analyses big calls, believes the call was wrong. Initially, the referee Referee David Coote did not award a penalty, but overturned his call after being called to the monitor by VAR Michael Oliver. The final decision was a penalty which Jarrod Bowen turned into a 2-1 victory and Ten Hag was sacked afterwards. The other ironic thing about this game is Manchester United players, who missed several favorable opportunities to easily win this match, and for that, the Dutch coach certainly cannot be blamed. Wednesday20:45: (3.50) Club Brugge (3.45) Aston Villa (2.10)20:45: (2.05) Shakhtar (3.45) Young Boys (3.60)23:00: (1.35) Bayern (5.80) Benfica (9.00)23:00: (18.0) Crvena Zvezda (7.20) Barcelona (1.20)23:00: (1.60) Feyenoord (4.00) Salzburg (5.70)23:00: (2.65) Inter (3.35) Arsenal (2.85)23:00: (1.73) PSG (3.75) Atl.Madrid (4.80)23:00: (2.45) Sparta Praha (3.35) Brest (2.90)23:00: (2.45) Stuttgart (3.75) Atalanta (2.85)***odds are subject to change***
