Erik ten Hag and Bruno Fernandes react to controversial penalty decision after Man Utd are held to draw at Crystal Palace

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag and Bruno Fernandes refused to blame the referee after being refused a penalty in the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.

Shortly after coming off the substitutes’ bench in the second-half, Scott McTominay appeared to be brought down by Palace defender Chris Richards after bursting into the box.

Referee Robert Jones did not deem the challenge a foul with VAR Neil Swarbrick agreeing with the on-field decision.

United had taken the lead just before half-time through Fernandes but were pegged back in the 91st minute after a stunning free kick from Michael Olise.

A win would have seen United move into second place, six points behind league leaders Arsenal who they take on this Sunday at the Emirates.

A draw however leaves them in third. United will also be without Casemiro for that showdown with the Gunners after the Brazil international picked up his fifth booking of the season for a wild challenge on Wilfried Zaha.

While the decision to award a penalty might have changed the game, ten Hag insisted United should have done enough to secure the win regardless of refereeing decisions.

‘You have to accept the decisions from the VAR and the referees,’ he said in a post-match press conference.

‘I look in the mirror, I look to my team, I look to my own managing and coaching and then I say invest more for the second goal then you avoid situations that you are dependent on the refereeing, VAR etc. That’s what we have to do.’

Fernandes also insisted United must quickly move on, refusing to dwell on the incident.

‘I don’t know, on the pitch it seems Scott gets onto the ball and the Crystal Palace guy tried to tackle him,’ Fernandes told Sky Sports.

‘The referee said he tried to tackle Scott or whatever, but decisions can go either way.

‘We can’t be worried about that now, there is nothing we can do about that now. We just have to look forward to the next game. Because it is a big game again and another one where we want the three points.’

MORE : Erik ten Hag gives verdict on Wout Weghorst’s Manchester United debut at Crystal Palace

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