Man Utd: Ten Hag laments referee "influence" on Southampton stalemate

The Red Devils failed return to winning ways in the Premier League following their humiliating defeat against Liverpool.

Erik ten Hag has criticized refereeing decisions in Manchester United’s goalless draw with Southampton.

The Red Devils bounced back from their 7-0 defeat against Liverpool by claiming an impressive win over Real Betis in the Europa League.

However, Ten Hag’s men failed to deliver a similar display at Old Trafford. A major event was Casemiro’s straight red card in the 34th minute, which forced United to play with ten men for the rest of the game.

“Casemiro played over 500 games in Europe and never once got a red card. Now he has two in the Premier League,” Ten Hag told Sky.

“His absence is not the issue. We will deal with that. This game was influenced by the referee.”

The Dutch manager also highlighted the referee’s controversial decision to reject Man Utd’s penalty appeal in the 43rd minute. The ball hit Armel Bella-Kotchap’s arm, who rushed toward Marcus Rashford‘s cross.

Asked whether the referee should have given a penalty for the Red Devils, Ten Hag added: “Definitely. There’s no doubt. I don’t know why VAR didn’t interupt.”

Ten Hag’s side will face Betis in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday. Man Utd will then meet Fulham in the FA Cup three days later.