Erik ten Hag slammed the officiating at the London Stadium, describing the late penalty awarded to West Ham as an “injustice” after Manchester United fell to a 2-1 defeat.
The Red Devils thought they had salvaged a point when Casemiro’s header cancelled out Crysencio Summerville’s opener, only for Jarrod Bowen to convert a 92nd-minute penalty, leaving Ten Hag’s men empty-handed.
The decisive moment came when Matthijs de Ligt was penalised for a foul on Danny Ings during a tussle in the box.
The ball bobbled between the two players before Ings went down, but referee David Coote initially waved play on. However, VAR recommended that Coote take a second look at the incident on the pitchside monitor.
After viewing multiple replays, Coote deemed there was sufficient contact between De Ligt and Ings, prompting him to overturn his initial decision and award the penalty. Bowen stepped up and calmly slotted the spot-kick past Andre Onana, sealing the win for the Hammers.
Ten Hag was furious with the decision and made his feelings clear, both to the officials and in his post-match comments. Speaking to the BBC, he said:
“Three times this season we feel injustice. We have to score, we created so many chances. We should’ve been two or three up. Second half we were forcing it but we allowed them into the game.
“When you are losing 1-0 you need big personality and character of the team and showed resilience to get back into it. Unfair and unjust the way we conceded the penalty.”
Ten Hag was particularly critical of the use of VAR, questioning whether the incident met the threshold for intervention.
“It was so difficult to see. Before the season there was the instruction about VAR only interfering in clear and obvious mistakes. That is definitely not a clear and obvious mistake from the on-field referee,” he added.
The United manager expressed frustration at the impact these decisions have had on his side’s season.
“More frustrations but I can do nothing with that. They don’t collect points and that’s what we have to do. We have to look in the mirror, we don’t score in a good game from our side. Create loads of chances and concede none but when you lose in this way it’s a bad feeling.”
He also revealed details of his exchange with referee Coote:
“I spoke with them. But the decision is made. There’s no way back and that’s football. That’s a third time I have felt injustice in the season and it has a big impact on our team and on our scores and where we are in the table. It’s not right.”
The defeat leaves United in 14th place, with mounting pressure on Ten Hag as his side continues to struggle in a challenging campaign.