Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche led the forceful complaints against Casemiro’s opening goal for Manchester United on Saturday, claiming the decisive corner should not have been awarded during a “farcical” scenario.
For Forest, it was all too familiar. The Tricky Trees have been deceived by decisions from assistant referees on consecutive weekends. Bournemouth’s Marcus Tavernier scored directly from a corner which should not have been awarded last Sunday and replays suggest that Nicolò Savona kept the ball in play in the first half of this weekend’s visit from United. Dyche was in no doubt.
“It’s not inconclusive,” the Forest boss fumed to Sky Sports after watching his side battle out a 2–2 draw. “I’ve seen it back.”
Referee Darren England deferred to the judgement of his assistant Akil Howson, who signalled for a corner from the opposite side of the pitch. Casemiro headed United in front from that set piece.
“Of course you can argue about us dealing with it, but the point is it’s the wrong decision,” Dyche bemoaned in his postmatch press conference. “What’s even worse is that the assistant referee has given it from 75 yards away, behind the view of the goal. Apparently he can see it.
“We can clearly see the ball hanging over the line. Whether it’s three-quarters or not is irrelevant, the fact is it’s not out. It’s really disappointing.”
Dyche called for VAR to intervene but the video assisted officials in Stockley Park cannot rule on corner kicks. There has been talk from the game’s lawmakers about extending VAR’s remit to consider second yellow cards ahead of next summer’s World Cup. Premier League referees chief Howard Webb has previously expressed reluctance to empower VAR even further—“less is more” is his preferred stance—and so it appears highly unlikely that corners will ever be reviewed from afar.
“It’s something that needs looking at,” Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White insisted, continuing the theme of recriminations, “it has cost us two extra points today.”
Man Utd Teased by Nottingham Forest Star
Deserved more than a point.
— Neco Williams (@necowilliams) November 1, 2025
That trim might have to wait🫡 pic.twitter.com/chlikvpSUr
Much of the talk coming into Saturday’s contest revolved around United’s three-match winning streak. That predictably led to even more scrutiny on Frank Ilett, the Red Devils fan with a viral social media account, The United Strand, which records his refusal to cut his hair until the club win five successive matches.
United goalkeeper Senne Lammens recently admitted that Illett’s hijinks have perforated United’s dressing room and clearly those at Nottingham Forest are also aware of the phenomenon.
Forest wingback Neco Williams delivered a less than subtle message on social media. “Deserved more than a point,” he wrote. “That trim might have to wait.”
Amorim: Man Utd Would Have Lost This Game Last Season
For all the controversy and curt comments, United head coach Ruben Amorim looked at the positives. “If I think about game, we lost control for five minutes,” he told Match of the Day. “I feel in the recent past if we had had this situation [going from 1–0 up to 2–1 down] we would have struggled so much more than today.
“My feeling is we played well but we dropped a little bit of energy. When we have the full energy we are the better team. My players are giving everything but we have the potential to do better.
“Sometimes we have these moments. In the end we lost two points and we need to get three points in the next game.”
United’s search for the start of another winning streak will have to wait until next Saturday, when they head to the home ground of an unconvincing Tottenham Hotspur.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Man Utd’s ‘Farcical’ Opening Goal vs. Nottingham Forest Was So Controversial.