'Got that wrong' – Mike Dean delivers verdict on Sunderland penalty controversy against Manchester United

Former Premier League referee Mike Dean has shared his view on Sunderland’s controversial first-half penalty incident during their 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Dean, speaking on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday, said referee Stuart Attwell made the wrong on-field decision to award Sunderland a spot-kick before VAR correctly intervened to overturn it.

Sunderland thought they had been handed a lifeline shortly before half-time when Attwell pointed to the spot after Trai Hume went down inside the box under pressure from Benjamin Šeško. However, after a lengthy VAR check, the referee reviewed the footage and reversed his own call, awarding a corner instead.

Explaining the process, Dean said: “The pictures me and Tim [Sherwood] were seeing, unfortunately, looked like it wasn’t given on field and was sent to VAR. I did a bit of digging at half-time, and the referee actually gave the decision on field, so for me, he’s got that wrong.

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“I had a bit of a go at Neil Davies, the VAR, saying he shouldn’t have got involved, but he was right to get involved as it was the wrong call by the referee. Neil got it right, sent him to the screen, it was overturned, and the correct decision was made.”

The incident was one of several moments that left Sunderland frustrated, with the Premier League later releasing an official statement confirming that Šeško had not made contact with Hume’s head. Le Bris’ side then went close from the resulting corner, but Dan Ballard headed wide from close range, missing the chance to pull one back before the interval.

How did Sunderland fans react to the decision?

The overturned first-half penalty decision sparked huge debate among Sunderland supporters online. Many fans took to social media to vent their frustration at referee Stuart Attwell and VAR official Neil Davies after what looked like a high-foot challenge on Trai Hume was ultimately deemed fair.

User @tongey93 argued: “That would be a free kick outside the box? It's a high foot/dangerous play regardless of the contact with his head surely?” Another fan, @lmaddo_17, agreed: “It's still a high foot. Can't be putting your foot head height contact or not.”

Others, though, sided with the officials. @shanehagan24 insisted: “No, doesn’t touch him – right decision,” while @PghMackem added: “Correct decision from a consistency point of view… that was a corner under most circumstances, and that’s what was given.”

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Early in the second half, Bertrand Traoré appeared to be clipped by Bruno Fernandes as he burst into the box with goalkeeper Senne Lammens closing him down. Traoré went to ground but was instead shown a yellow card for simulation – a decision that left the Sunderland bench fuming. Replays suggested there was slight contact, yet the incident was not reviewed by VAR.

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