'Not a good look' - Premier League refereeing getting worse due to VAR overreliance, says Alan Shearer

Manchester United were left fuming after Friday's 2-2 draw at Bournemouth. The visitors were 1-0 up courtesy of a Bruno Fernandes penalty when Amad went down in the penalty area after a challenge from Adrien Tuffert. Attwell did not give a penalty, with the Cherries then going straight down the other end of the pitch and equalising. United quickly restored their lead but were denied victory when Attwell whistled for a penalty on Evanilson and sent off Maguire. VAR reviewed and confirmed both calls by the referee, deeming there was not sufficient contact for the foul on Amad and that Maguire had committed a holding offense on Evanilson with no attempt to challenge for the ball.

Shearer was critical of the officiating after the game. He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "They [referees] are too reliant on it and it's affecting the standard of refereeing now, and it's not a good look. You should have given a penalty when you gave two like that. How on earth do you not give another one."

Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock shared Shearer's sentiments, adding: "I think it has ruined it. It's ruined the enjoyment in stadiums. I think it's ruined it for referees to officiate. I think that it's a little bit of a safety blanket every time they referee. VAR isn't perfect, it isn't great, it makes mistakes and it's still subjective, which is a huge problem, and I just think it's a poor addition to the game."

Manchester United manager Michael Carrick revealed his frustrations at the final whistle. He told Sky Sports: "We found the goal, should've had another penalty. You get one, you must get the other. It's pretty much identical for me, two-hand grab, and so either way he's got one wrong. To give one and not give the other, I just can't get my head around it. It's crazy. Because of that they go down the other end, they score and then it's chaos after that, really.

"Where do you start, really? Listen, maybe he's passed Harry and that's the right decision and he's given that. I haven't got too much of a problem, I haven't seen it back to be totally honest, but I think if he's passed him and he's in on goal, I can understand that decision, so I'm not going we deserve everything. But it shouldn't have happened because we should've had another penalty and the game would've been totally different."

United are now planning to lodge a formal complaint with refereeing body the PGMOL over the decisions. The Red Devils have been left furious by the officiating and feel if the penalty on Amad had been given they would have gone 2-0 up and sealed all three points, per the Daily Mail. United also want answers over why nine minutes of stoppage time were added on as they tried to hang on for the draw with only 10 men.