Manchester United penalty vs PSG: Was referee correct to award spot kick?

Marcus Rashford thumped home a late and highly controversial penalty as Manchester United pulled off a remarkable victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night.

Referee Damir Skomina spent several minutes assessing the VAR video replay screen and adjudged PSG centre-back Presnel Kimpembe to have handed the ball with his arm after Diogo Dalot’s shot.

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The converted spot kick sealed a famous 3-1 win for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men and puts them into the Champions League quarter-final draw… but many PSG fans will be asking whether the penalty should have stood at all.

Opinion divided

Here’s a round-up of opinions from the BT Sport studio.

Gary Lineker: “I don’t think in any way you can say that is clear and obvious.”

Michael Owen: “For me, with a netural head on, it’s not a penalty in a million years. It’s literally flipped off his arm and gone for a corner.”

Rio: “I don’t think it’s a penalty but turning your back as a defender, you get punished for that.”

Referee’s view

Former Premier League referee Peter Walton took a different view to the ex-players, however.

“We called it straight away,” he said. “The way Kimpembe has gone up there, left his arm out, turned his back, and made himself bigger. This is exactly why VAR has been brought in. VAR has to decide if it’s in the area. For me, that’s a handball. He’s turned his back, not taken responsibility for his arm. It’s a penalty kick.”