Sports
Andre Onana clears the air on the ‘Wolves Penalty’ incident
Manchester United once again started the season with a refereeing decision playing a controversial role in their victory versus Wolves, with goalie, Andre Onana at the center of the debate.
In his post-match interview following the game, the Cameroonian goalkeeper, Andre Onana made his feelings known regarding the penalty claim by Wolves in the premier league season opener on Monday night.
The 27-year-old goalie who made his competitive debut for the Old Trafford side told the press that he was confident that the penalty calls by Wolverhampton Wanderers wouldn’t be given.
According to Andre Onana,
“Goalkeepers make decisions, sometimes you are right, sometimes you are not,” he said in defense of the contact between him and Wolves forward, Sasa Kalajdzic.
“I made a decision and I am responsible for everything. For me, it was contact between two big guys. I was calm and nothing happened.”
In the 95th minute, the former Inter Milan man clattered into Kalajdzic, who consequently fell to the ground in the penalty box.
Some pundits believe it was a penalty as it denied the forward a goal scoring chance while the goalkeeper was no where reaching for the ball.
“The reason I thought it was a penalty was because Onana wasn’t anywhere near the ball,” former Manchester United defender, Gary Neville said.
“He was always under it, was never getting there, and could have made a decision before he jumped.
“I always used to say if my goalkeeper was coming out they should clatter the lot, he’s done that, so in some ways, he has done what I’d want my goalkeeper to do, but the problem is he’s nowhere near the ball.
“He’s decided to disturb as much as he can and put the attacking player off, and it’s a penalty because he wasn’t close enough to the ball.
“If he arrived at the same time and he just missed the ball, it would have been a different story, but I think he knows what he’s doing.”
Andre Onana made a stunning move to Old Trafford in a £47.2 million deal from Inter Milan, and on his debut, he kept a clean sheet in a less than convincing 1-0 win.
Though he made several top saves to deny Wolves a goal, some pundits are not convinced with the Cameroonian.
