Man Utd handed new referee verdict after Lisandro Martinez flashpoint vs Newcastle

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Ex- Premier League referee Keith Hackett has backed Anthony Taylor's decision not to award Newcastle a penalty for a handball by Manchester United captain Lisandro Martinez .

During the match on Boxing Day , a shot from Fabian Schar hit the stand-in United captain inside the six-yard box. Despite Martinez's claims to referee Taylor, that the ball had struck him in the stomach, replays suggested his arm had made contact with the ball.

Video assistant referee Stuart Attwell reviewed that incident, but decided against any further action. Hackett, who previously served as the general manager of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), has now given his verdict on the contentious decision.

Speaking to Football Insider , Hackett said: "The referee has to judge if the action by the player is deliberate when deciding that an offence has taken place, not every time the ball comes into contact, is it an offence. There is sufficient doubt in this action not to award a penalty kick."

Gary Neville also weighed-in on the incident during Sky Sports ' commentary, suggesting that something Martinez did just before the incident might have prevented the awarding of a penalty. After seeing the ball strike Martinez's arm, Neville said: "There is a massive shout.

"Schar hits it, his arm is up above his head, and it's stretched. Is it because he's pushing [Malick] Thiaw?

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"That might just save him. He's actually wrestling with the other Newcastle centre-back; his arms are already there.

"If Thiaw is nowhere near him, then that's definitely a penalty. I think the fact that he has just had a wrestle with the other centre-back might just save him."

Neville also revealed what the VAR officials made of the controversial moment. The pundit added: "He's saying the context is because there's another situation whereby he's fighting with another player, and his arm's are already up there and he's just not got back down."

Main commentator Peter Drury explained: "They are calling it mutual contact between Martinez and Thiaw. And that's essentially the explanation for the fact that there won't be a penalty."

Following United's triumph, head coach Ruben Amorim heaped praise on Martinez. He said: "I think he's a guy with a lot of character. He's really good on the ball, and that came with the quality that he has.

"He played [in the] World Cup, he won [the] World Cup. He's used to that stress, and he showed today that he's a top player, and sometimes people talk about the way he defends the box because he's a small guy, but today he did really well against a team that just has tall players."

Yet when he was in turn pressed on whether the squad would be stronger with Martinez maintaining his fitness, Amorim declined to single out individuals. He responded: "No, I don't want to say that because - if we don't have more points - it's because of the team, not because of a specific player."

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