Why wasn’t Matheus Cunha’s goal for Manchester United against Forest disallowed for Bryan Mbeumo’s handball?
Forest were left furious after officials reviewed Bryan Mbeumo’s handball involvement for more than two minutes before allowing United’s second goal.
VAR controversy struck the Premier League once again on Sunday as Manchester United benefited from a seemingly contentious second goal against Nottingham Forest.
Early in the second half, Bryan Mbeumo attempted to control a cross into the box, with the ball flicking off his midriff before clearly striking his hand. His shot was then blocked by Neco Williams before Matheus Cunha tucked the rebound into the net, putting United 2-1 ahead.
Forest fury as VAR reviews handball incident
Referee Michael Salisbury spent more than two minutes reviewing the incident after being alerted by VAR official Matthew Donohue but ultimately awarded the goal, much to the bemusement of many watching and the fury of Forest.
Ridiculous VAR that is clearly a handball from mbeubo leading up to play Man United will forever be cheats even when they’re awful how do you check this and not give a handball??????? Robbery pic.twitter.com/z7GsiHafbM
— Danis (@DanisMCFC) May 17, 2026
While it may have appeared to be an obvious handball, Salisbury will claim he was simply following the Laws of the Game, as outlined by IFAB, the International Football Association Board.
IFAB’s handball rule states:
“A handball offence is not committed when a player heads, kicks or plays the ball with another part of their body and it then hits their own hand/arm (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents’ goal or the player scores immediately afterwards).”
Why Manchester United’s goal stood
Mbeumo inadvertently played the ball onto his own hand with his midriff, although the goal may have been disallowed had he then scored himself. United, it appears, were incredibly fortunate that it was Cunha, and not Mbeumo, who ultimately put the ball in the net.
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