Dean Smith Manager
Dean Smith has accused Manchester United players of refereeing the match as they defeated Norwich in the Premier League on Saturday. United won 1-0 at Carrow Road thanks to a late Cristiano Ronaldo penalty which was awarded in controversial circumstances in the second-half.
Dean Smith said: “Yeah it was (a feeling of being aggrieved). I’ve seen the penalty back and does he make contact with him in the box? Yes. Has he got his arm up? Yes, but I can show you five or six different challenges in the game, whether they are inside the box or outside the box which weren’t given. We are after consistency. There was no consistency there and I just felt it was too easy for Manchester United to referee the game today. Marcus Rashford gave himself a free-kick in the first-half. For me there was a build-up during the game. You can’t have players refereeing the game and it felt like it was. I am going to sound a sore loser, and yes, I am! I don’t think our performance deserved to lose the game today and there were some questionable decisions out there.”
When asked if Aarons was at all at fault for the penalty being awarded, Smith defended the Norwich player for his attempts to subdue Ronaldo.
Dean Smith added: “Max has got to make contact with Ronaldo as the cross is coming in otherwise he gets one of his leaps and gets miles above you. He has made contact with him, was it enough to make him fall backwards? I don’t think so. It is a soft penalty but there were soft moments throughout the game.”
