During the FA Cup final, Manchester United were awarded a penalty that many pundits deemed “ridiculous”. The penalty was given after Jack Grealish was judged to have handled the ball in an unnatural position. The incident occurred when Aaron Wan-Bissaka headed the ball across the box and it hit Grealish’s arm from close range. Referee Paul Tierney was alerted to the incident by Stockley Park official David Coote and after checking the monitor, he pointed to the spot. Bruno Fernandes stepped up to convert the penalty, which levelled the game after Ilkay Gundogan’s sensational strike put Manchester City ahead after just 14 seconds.
However, many pundits were left fuming over the decision. BBC’s Jermaine Jenas stated that although Grealish’s hand was in the air and the ball hit it, it was not a penalty for him. Lee Dixon on ITV went further and called it “the worst penalty in the history of penalties”, adding that it was not a penalty, regardless of what the rule book says. Peter Schmeichel felt it was the correct decision but conceded that the rules are “silly”. Alan Shearer agreed with Schmeichel and called the regulations “terrible”, admitting that he was on the verge of swearing about it. Ex-Manchester United captain Roy Keane believed it was harsh but thought Grealish could have brought his arms down.
Later in the game, there was more controversy over a decision when Kevin De Bruyne went down under the challenge of Fred. VAR looked at the incident but believed it was not a foul. Peter Schmeichel was unhappy with the laws of the game.