Gary Neville agrees with furious Wolves boss Gary O'Neil over Man Utd incident
Gary O'Neil and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville were left bemused after Wolves were denied a late penalty in Monday night's 1-0 loss against Manchester United.
The Red Devils had a slender advantage in the closing stages of the match courtesy of a second-half header from Raphael Varane which came very much against the run of play.
It seemed as though Wolves were set to be handed a reprieve though when Andre Onana cleared out Sasa Kalajdzic in the penalty area during stoppage time - but referee Simon Hooper was unmoved and his on-field decision was not overruled by VAR officials watching on.
Unsurprisingly, O'Neil was less than impressed with the decision which took some of the shine off an impressive display from the hosts, who have only worked with their new head coach for a few days after parting ways with Julen Lopetegui last week. O'Neil told Sky Sports: "I thought live it was a penalty, it looked like the keeper almost took our strikers head off. It looks the same now. I think it is a foul.
"If you go for the ball and clatter into the attacking player, it has to be a foul. I am not overly surprised that we didn't get it. When he came towards us, I thought he might be going over to the screen but he was booking me and not Onana for smashing our player.
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He continued: "I understand it but I don't accept it fully. The on-field referee, it is a difficult decision for them. We can't just leave it because they said no. If we all think it is a penalty, and a lot of people have said it is a stonewall penalty, I am disappointed."
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Andre Onana cleared out Wolves substitute Sasa Kalajdzic (Sky Sports)Neville, who was covering the match as part of Monday Night Football with Jamie Carragher and Karen Carney, was in full agreement with O'Neil regarding the incident.
He said: "I think it is a penalty because Onana was nowhere near the ball. He was under it and was never getting there. He could have made the decision before he jumped. I always said if my keeper was coming out, to take the lot. He has done that but he is nowhere near the ball. I think in an un-calculated fashion, he has decided he is going to disturb the attacking player as much as he can. I think he knew what he was doing."
Carragher was less sure on the incident though, adding: "I wasn't sure. I didn't think there was any way in the world it would be overturned once the referee hadn't given it."
Erik ten Hag was reluctant to speak too much on the incident when he was quizzed about it after the match.
The Dutchman insisted: "It is difficult. Onana was brave to come out. I don't think he had an influence on the touch from the opponent. VAR made the decision and it was on outside."
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