Ex-Premier League referee says Dermot Gallagher ‘infuriates’ him after old colleague agreed with call not to award Rasmus Hojlund a penalty during Manchester derby

Ex-Premier League referee Mark Halsey has said Dermot Gallagher ‘infuriates’ him after his old colleague agreed with the call not to award Rasmus Hojlund a penalty during the Manchester derby

After Josko Gvardiol headed the hosts in front during a scrappy first half at the Etihad, Ruben Amorim‘s side returned from the interval in search of an equaliser against their fierce rivals.

Chances proved largely hard to come by for United but they appeared to have a golden opportunity to equalise when Rasmus Hojlund was brought down by Ruben Dias just after the hour mark.

Hojlund had found his way into the box before being brought down by Dias, when the Portuguese’s left leg appeared to trip him over.

The United players immediately appealed to referee Anthony Taylor, but he waved away their protests and awarded a goal kick to the hosts to the dismay of the travelling fans.

On Sky Sports ‘Ref Watch’ segment, Gallagher insisted Hojlund went down too easily and was looking for a penalty. 

However, officials waved away United’s protests during Sunday’s Manchester derby

Ex-Premier League referee Mark Halsey (left) says Dermot Gallagher (right) ‘infuriates’ him

‘I just thought Hojlund was happy to go down. I didn’t think he was really interested chasing after the ball. His knees buckled,’ he said. 

And Halsey, who retired as a professional referee at the end of the 2012-13 season, slammed Gallagher, posting on X: ‘I Stopped watching the show as he infuriates me’.

Meanwhile, United legend Gary Neville had his say on the incident while on commentary.  

‘It’s clumsy. Just a bit of a coming together as they both try to fall,’ Neville said. ‘He seemed to step across the Man United striker.’

However, after reviewing a replay of the incident, the former defender claimed United were unfortunate not to have been awarded a spot kick.

In the end, it didn’t matter for United as they went and scored two late goals to earn a valuable win over their rivals at the Etihad Stadium.

Bruno Fernandes scored from the spot after Amad Diallo was brought down before Diallo then converted in the final minutes in the game to win the match.