Ref Watch: No Bravo red

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher debates a whole host of controversial decisions from Saturday’s Manchester derby.

The hotly contested affair at Old Trafford, which ended in a 2-1 win for Manchester City, produced an angry response from Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho after the match.

In particular, the ‘Special One’ was furious with Mark Clattenburg over the official’s failure to award his side two second-half penalties.

New City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo’s rash challenge on Wayne Rooney went unpunished and moments later Antonio Valencia’s cross struck the elbow of Nicolas Otamendi in the area, neither of which resulted in a spot-kick for the home team.

“I am very disappointed with two decisions from Mark [Clattenburg], because it’s a penalty and a red card for Bravo,” Mourinho said. 

“If you tell me that that’s not a penalty and a red card, I’ll tell you that for sure outside the box it is a free-kick and a red card. Inside the box it has to be the same, but obviously even the best referees make mistakes, and he made a big one.

“The second one is also a penalty, Otamendi is a penalty, you can tell me he has no intention, I think he has intention.

“The arm behind the body, he knows that the cross is not going in his face, it’s going in his back, and he drops the elbow back, so two penalties.”

So this is what Gallagher thinks about those two big calls, as well as several other …

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