Why did Man Utd goal stand but penalty awarded at Fulham?

At first glance, the penalty decision is a simple one with Bassey grabbing Mount and throwing him to the ground.

Given the Premier League’s stated aim to crackdown on pulling and holding at corners this season, in part brought in to help avoid time being wasted by referees delaying set-pieces being taken to warn the players involved, it was no surprise it was given.

“Holding happens in different places within the penalty area – sometimes on the ball, sometimes off the ball and it varies in terms of extremes,” Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer said before the start of the season.

“What we’ve said to the officials is if you get one of those situations where one player is clearly dragging another one to the floor in an extreme non-football action, even if it’s off the ball, we expect the referee to see it.”

The complication comes from the fact Shaw also seemed to be fouling Muniz, just behind the Bassey and Mount incident.

The United left-back had both arms wrapped around the Fulham forward and both ended up on the ground.

While Shaw’s grab was considered a foul, the penalty was still awarded because Bassey was deemed to have committed his foul first.

But not everyone agrees.

“The two fouls are simultaneous,” former England goalkeeper Rob Green told BBC Sport.

“Shaw has two arms round his opponent in a holding action at the same time as Bassey does. So a penalty seems harsh.”