UEFA have backed the VAR decision to award Man United a stoppage-time penalty against PSG which completed their improbable 3-1 win in France, following a handball by Presnel Kimpembe insisting the defender made his "body bigger".
European football's governing body released a statement Friday after much was made of referee Damir Skomina's award of a spot kick on 92 minutes played, with United needing just one goal to advance to the quarterfinal stage in Paris.
After much deliberation at the death, Skomina consulted VAR and eventually awarded a penalty, much to the dismay of the home crowd inside Le Parc des Princes.
Also on rt.com ‘Phenomenal’: Jose Mourinho on Manchester United’s shock Champions League win over PSG (VIDEO)Striker Marcus Rashford converted in the 94th minute to send Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side through on away goals with the score 3-3 on aggregate, but the football world was split on whether it was the correct decision, especially in such a high-stakes game.
UEFA have nevertheless backed VAR and the referee's decision, detailing that Kimpembe's arm stopped the ball from "traveling in the direction of the goal".
The statement read: "The VAR, after checking various different angles available to him, recommended to the referee an on-field review following the penalty area incident.
"Given that the referee did not recognise the incident clearly during live play (referred to as serious missed incident in the VAR protocol) an on-field review was conducted.
"Following the on-field review, the referee confirmed that the distance that the ball travelled was not short and the impact could therefore not be unexpected.
"The defender’s arm was not close to the body, which made the defender’s body bigger thus resulting in the ball being stopped from travelling in the direction of the goal. The referee, therefore, awarded a penalty kick," the statement concluded.
Injured PSG striker Neymar was one of those to react with apoplexy to the decision, saying "go f*ck yourselves" on Instagram after watching the drama unfold incredulously from the sidelines.
Also on rt.com ‘Go f*** yourselves’: Sore loser Neymar slams VAR penalty decision as Man Utd shock PSGSource : RT Sport News
'He made his body bigger': UEFA back Man United-PSG penalty decision after Kimpembe handball
'He made his body bigger': UEFA back Man United-PSG penalty decision after Kimpembe handball
