Fulham manager Alvaro Arbeloa has accused the match officials of not wanting Manchester United to lose after his side were held to a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage. The former Real Madrid boss pointed to a controversial free-kick decision that led to United's equaliser as evidence of bias.
Match details and controversial decisions
Fulham took the lead on 63 minutes through a bizarre Lisandro Martinez own goal, putting them on course for their first Premier League win of the season. However, Matheus Cunha's deflected shot levelled the score in the 89th minute, denying Fulham all three points.
Arbeloa was visibly frustrated after the final whistle and aimed a wild accusation at the officials in his post-match interview with Sky Sports. He highlighted a free-kick awarded for Cesar Palacios pushing Harry Maguire in the build-up to Cunha's goal as a decision he disagreed with.
Arbeloa's post-match comments
'All fouls for them,' Arbeloa told Sky Sports. 'You can see before they scored, the foul against Maguire, he's a guy who is 100 kilos. Every decision was for them.'
'And I knew. I knew after the game against Man City that they [would not] let Manchester United lose here. We deserved a little bit more. We were so close. So, so close. We were a little bit unlucky again. We knew it would be difficult against this big team. Also we knew what happened last week. We have seen what the referees have been doing all the match so it was a difficult game. And we were unlucky.'
The comments referred to United's controversial loss to Manchester City the previous weekend, after which refereeing body Pro Ref acknowledged that Erling Haaland's goal should not have stood due to Enzo Fernandez being offside, despite VAR overturning the officials' decision.
Arbeloa softens stance in press conference
In his post-match press conference, Arbeloa changed his tone, suggesting he may have been misunderstood. 'My English is not so good. Maybe I explain myself so bad and I prefer not to say anything about the referees because you never know,' he said.
'When you say something that you don't have to say, it's better to stay calm, focus on the performance of my team and focus on the next game. I'm not really happy. Like I said, I need to be focused and put my energy in all the things that I have to improve. [Maguire] is a very big guy and maybe it wasn't a foul. But it's ok. Like I said, I prefer to analyse the game – players, systems and it's the best for win. You know when you draw a game like that, maybe you're a little bit frustrated.'
Mixed reactions to the decision
Former Manchester United star Ashley Young disagreed with Arbeloa's assessment, saying referee Peter Bankes got the decision right. 'It's definitely a foul. Palacios isn't looking at the ball, he's straight into Maguire's back,' said the England international. 'I know he [Arbeloa] says Maguire is 100kg, but he's smart, he's waiting for the foul to be committed.'
The draw leaves Fulham still searching for their first league win of the season, while Manchester United avoided a second consecutive defeat following their loss to Manchester City. Arbeloa's comments are likely to be reviewed by the Football Association, though his press conference remarks may mitigate any potential disciplinary action.
