Martin Atkinson

[crossy1686]

On what grounds can the goal be disallowed?

I’m not saying it should, De Gea is at fault for the goal. What I’m saying is the ref thought he blew his whistle before the ball went into the net, therefore his intention was to stop play before a goal was scored or to disallow an attempt on goal. If they weren’t his intentions he would have waved for play-on.

So moving forward why wouldn’t you just put the ball in the back of the net when someone’s down in hopes you beat the refs whistle?

 

[UncleBob]

I know it's already standard to stop play when a goalkeeper is down, but if that's the rule why don't they go down on every opposition attack and they can never concede a goal? The reason they very rarely go down when the opposition is still on the attack because they know they'll liable to concede a goal if the ref doesn't spot them in time, or doesn't feel they've been fouled by the opposition. It sets a terrible precedent for referees to have to stop the game when a keeper is down just as the opposition is about to score as it's basically a get out of jail free card every time the opposition is on a dangerous attack. If the precedent is that the ref stops the game only when he spots the keeper, and providing there isn't an immediate goalscoring opportunity, then it discourages keepers from feigning injury like De Gea has done here. That makes more sense to me than having a blanket rule that a goal can't be scored if a keeper is on the floor because the ref will blow the whistle a millisecond before the goal is scored.

And let's not forget, he's not been touched by an opposition player. Quite often we see the game stopped for keepers because they've had some sort of collision with an opposition player that has resulted in a soft foul being given, you can't go a step further and have keepers given the licence to feign injury from themselves or their own teammates.

Jesus fecking christ

 

[simmee]

I’m not saying it should, De Gea is at fault for the goal. What I’m saying is the ref thought he blew his whistle before the ball went into the net, therefore his intention was to stop play before a goal was scored or to disallow an attempt on goal. If they weren’t his intentions he would have waved for play-on.

So moving forward why wouldn’t you just put the ball in the back of the net when someone’s down in hopes you beat the refs whistle?

Of course you should do that. Is play until the whistle something new?

 

[PickledRed]

I’m not saying it should, De Gea is at fault for the goal. What I’m saying is the ref thought he blew his whistle before the ball went into the net, therefore his intention was to stop play before a goal was scored or to disallow an attempt on goal. If they weren’t his intentions he would have waved for play-on.

So moving forward why wouldn’t you just put the ball in the back of the net when someone’s down in hopes you beat the refs whistle?

The ref appeared to wait until the ball went in presumably to assess whether a foul had taken place. You should always carry on and try to score until the whistle blows.

 

[crossy1686]

The ref appeared to wait until the ball went in presumably to assess whether a foul had taken place. You should always carry on and try to score until the whistle blows.

The ref told Maguire that he blew the whistle before the ball crossed the line. The VAR check was to see who fouled De Gea AND to see if he had blown the whistle before the ball crossed the line.

 

[sullydnl]

It is fair in my opinion. Why should the game be stopped for a keeper when it doesn't get stopped for outfield players. You think If a defender on the run pulls his hamstring and the striker has the chance to score, the game should be stopped?
Fact is it was given a goal because Fred was the one that caused the injury and not an Arsenal player and it was still part of the same attack. Not like the ball was cleared far away and the ref let the game continue.

Because it's terrible game management from the ref, which is why as is they are taught to stop play 99% of the time goalkeepers are injured like that.

If they didn't then not only would they regularly get controversial goals like this which they want to avoid, they could have whole sections of play where the goalkeeper is crumpled on the ground badly injured, his teammates are screaming at the ref to stop play and the opposition are continuing on passing the ball. It would be a farce and would provoke anger from everyone involved, at which point the referees loses control of the game.

The idea that goalkeepers should be treated exactly the same as outfield players while ignoring the fact that their role is completely different to outfield players is silly. It isn't like an outfield player being injured because an outfield player being injured doesn't immediately give the opposition an open goal. The goalkeeper can't just role off the pitch while his teammates get into shape to cover him and there aren't fly goalies. As soon as he's down injured, one side is at an obvious crippling disadvantage they can do nothing about. Thankfully refs generally aren't quite so stupid as to referee that way.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

I’m not saying it should, De Gea is at fault for the goal. What I’m saying is the ref thought he blew his whistle before the ball went into the net, therefore his intention was to stop play before a goal was scored or to disallow an attempt on goal. If they weren’t his intentions he would have waved for play-on.

You know, that is the big thing I keep asking since yesterday. What does the rule say when the referee had the intention to blow the whistle? I watched about every angle there was, and Atkinson had grounds to call play dead. In ice hockey for instance, a referee showing intent to blow the whistle equals to stopping the play dead even if the puck is loose and gets shoveled into the goal.

Back on Atkinson's later actions in the game, I was livid when he didn't call the penalty initially. If Andre Marriner (the VAR) didn't blow the horn to call it back, I swear Atkinson wouldn't hear the end of that controversy. How can one miss that penalty at full speed, with the defender arriving from behind? The FA should strongly consider putting that guy into retirement ASAP.

 

[crossy1686]

You know, that is the big thing I keep asking since yesterday. What does the rule say when the referee had the intention to blow the whistle? I watched about every angle there was, and Atkinson had grounds to call play dead. In ice hockey for instance, a referee showing intent to blow the whistle equals to stopping the play dead even if the puck is loose and gets shoveled into the goal.

Back on Atkinson's later actions in the game, I was livid when he didn't call the penalty initially. If Andre Marriner (the VAR) didn't blow the horn to call it back, I swear Atkinson wouldn't hear the end of that controversy. How can one miss that penalty at full speed, with the defender arriving from behind? The FA should strongly consider putting that guy into retirement ASAP.

The only thing I can think of is that VAR saw that he didn't actually blow his whistle before the ball crossed the line and the fact he made an attempt to get out of the way of the Smith-Rowe shot suggests he was still treating the match as ongoing, despite everyone else stopping for the inevitable whistle?

 

[SER19]

It's much more than a decade. He was the linesman who failed to flag for a clear offside against Thierry Henry in 2003. As a ref, he cost us the treble in 2008, by refusing to give us an early penalty against Portsmouth in an FA Cup Quarter Final match, when Distin wiped out Ronaldo, as Portsmouth fluked their way to a 1-0 win. Later on, numerous shocking decisions favouring Chelsea against us at Stamford Bridge. The man is a complete and utter cheat, a Leeds fan who constantly abuses his position when refereeing our matches.

Wow id never placed him as that appalling linesman for Henry. One of the most glaring offsides we've had

 

[Pughnichi]

He looked like he saw DDG down and went to blow. The fact he didn’t means the goal should stand.

He even looked disappointed the goal went in on the slow replay…like he knew it was gonna be contentious. I have sympathy for him.

But, if Arsenal had an ounce of decorum, they would have let us walk the ball in. Happy to take the goal when the gk is down is pathetic.

Seeing them celebrate wildly would have have fired us up (see Telles slide tackle on Martinelli)

 

[tothetop96]

Everyone saying the refs always blow when keeper was injured; there was no injury.

De Gea was play acting because he thought an Arsenal player stood on his ankle.

Can you imagine a rugby player rolling around on the ground every time they felt some studs? There'd be couple of forwards down for 30 seconds after every ruck. Pathetic.

Anyone who backs De Gea in this situation is deluded. Complete play acting and he got what he deserves. It genuinely disgusts me when I see soccer players feigning injury when their team needs them. Almost exclusive to soccer. I seriously don't understand the culture in the sport that allows it as acceptable behaviour. I don't understand how managers allow it.

You see it all the time with forwards going down when they lose the ball and the other team are breaking. An Arsenal player literally did it straight after the De Gea incident.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

He looked like he saw DDG down and went to blow. The fact he didn’t means the goal should stand.

He even looked disappointed the goal went in on the slow replay…like he knew it was gonna be contentious. I have sympathy for him.

But, if Arsenal had an ounce of decorum, they would have let us walk the ball in. Happy to take the goal when the gk is down is pathetic.

Seeing them celebrate wildly would have have fired us up (see Telles slide tackle on Martinelli)

I didn't have an issue with them not letting us walk a goal in, they played to the whistle and I'd expect us to do the same. But their celebrations (after the 2 minutes it took to award) such a freak open net goal at the expense of a hurt player was a bit cringey. They all piled on Smith Rowe like it was stoppage time winner.

 

[Dominos]

Jesus fecking christ

So you agree the rule isn't "whenever the keeper feigns injury we stop the game a millisecond before the opposition are about to score"... Glad we're on the same page.

 

[TheReligion]

He looked like he saw DDG down and went to blow. The fact he didn’t means the goal should stand.

He even looked disappointed the goal went in on the slow replay…like he knew it was gonna be contentious. I have sympathy for him.

But, if Arsenal had an ounce of decorum, they would have let us walk the ball in. Happy to take the goal when the gk is down is pathetic.

Seeing them celebrate wildly would have have fired us up (see Telles slide tackle on Martinelli)

Agreed

 

[11101]

Back on Atkinson's later actions in the game, I was livid when he didn't call the penalty initially. If Andre Marriner (the VAR) didn't blow the horn to call it back, I swear Atkinson wouldn't hear the end of that controversy. How can one miss that penalty at full speed, with the defender arriving from behind? The FA should strongly consider putting that guy into retirement ASAP.

You must be new to the Premier League. Over 15 years he's been doing this, making crucial mistakes and ruining games. Nothing ever happens to him. We have some of the worst referees in Europe right now but Martin Atkinson makes them look like Pierluigi Collina.

 

[sullydnl]

Everyone saying the refs always blow when keeper was injured; there was no injury.

De Gea was play acting because he thought an Arsenal player stood on his ankle.

Can you imagine a rugby player rolling around on the ground every time they felt some studs? There'd be couple of forwards down for 30 seconds after every ruck. Pathetic.

Anyone who backs De Gea in this situation is deluded. Complete play acting and he got what he deserves. It genuinely disgusts me when I see soccer players feigning injury when their team needs them. Almost exclusive to soccer. I seriously don't understand the culture in the sport that allows it as acceptable behaviour. I don't understand how managers allow it.

You see it all the time with forwards going down when they lose the ball and the other team are breaking. An Arsenal player literally did it straight after the De Gea incident.

That's fine, except Atkinson then did try to disallow the goal because of the injury but was stopped from doing so by VAR.

So whatever about De Gea, Atkinson is still a pillock. Either for not stopping play in time when he wanted to, or for trying to disallow the goal when he couldn't, or both.

 

[Champ]

Everyone saying the refs always blow when keeper was injured; there was no injury.

De Gea was play acting because he thought an Arsenal player stood on his ankle.

Can you imagine a rugby player rolling around on the ground every time they felt some studs? There'd be couple of forwards down for 30 seconds after every ruck. Pathetic.

Anyone who backs De Gea in this situation is deluded. Complete play acting and he got what he deserves. It genuinely disgusts me when I see soccer players feigning injury when their team needs them. Almost exclusive to soccer. I seriously don't understand the culture in the sport that allows it as acceptable behaviour. I don't understand how managers allow it.

You see it all the time with forwards going down when they lose the ball and the other team are breaking. An Arsenal player literally did it straight after the De Gea incident.

How do you know this? How would anyone know this at the time?

He got studs raked down his achillies, it hurts.

Enough to go prone on the floor? Maybe not (only DDG can answer that), but GK's are a protected species so he probably was believing the game would be stopped, as it should have been,

 

[KingCavani]

How do you know this? How would anyone know this at the time?

He got studs raked down his achillies, it hurts.

Enough to go prone on the floor? Maybe not (only DDG can answer that), but GK's are a protected species so he probably was believing the game would be stopped, as it should have been,

Maybe not?

Embarrassing. Seriously. Going into the fetal position as a goalkeeper because your foot hurts is just so ridiculous that reading any sort of defence for it is laughable.

It is the most unnatural reaction imaginable and the only reason players so often do that is to win fouls, get players carded and because there’s little to lose in doing so. De Gea did it with Arsenal in possession at the edge of our box which means he’s stupid as well as soft. Negligence beyond belief.

I swear some people here have never played football in their lives. Yes the studs will absolutely hurt but anyone thinking it causes you to react like that without serious injury is delusional. How in the world are people defending this? Is it because we won?

 

[Champ]

Maybe not?

Embarrassing. Seriously. Going into the fetal position as a goalkeeper because your foot hurts is just so ridiculous that reading any sort of defence for it is laughable.

It is the most unnatural reaction imaginable and the only reason players so often do that is to win fouls, get players carded and because there’s little to lose in doing so. De Gea did it with Arsenal in possession at the edge of our box which means he’s stupid as well as soft. Negligence beyond belief.

I swear some people here have never played football in their lives. Yes the studs will absolutely hurt but anyone thinking it causes you to react like that without serious injury is delusional. How in the world are people defending this? Is it because we won?

Sorry, guess we can't all be as macho as you.

I bet you wear t shirts in winter don't you? I bet you can also walk on Lego barefoot too? Hero

As a football player myself, I can attest that studs down the Achilles is painful, if DDG was hurt, as it appeared to be, he had two options, either risk further injury or hope that by being prone the ref blows up for treatment (the latter is the norm and what should have happened).

 

[GregM40]

Gave us absolutely nothing last night, even a stonewall pen! Shocker.

 

[KingCavani]

Sorry, guess we can't all be as macho as you.

I bet you wear t shirts in winter don't you? I bet you can also walk on Lego barefoot too? Hero

As a football player myself, I can attest that studs down the Achilles is painful, if DDG was hurt, as it appeared to be, he had two options, either risk further injury or hope that by being prone the ref blows up for treatment (the latter is the norm and what should have happened).

It's macho not to go into the fetal position when you get raked with studs. What am I even reading right now?

Jesus Christ - He went down like he was in a trench in Verdun, because the back of his foot stung. It is not how a human being reacts to that pain. At all.

Risk further injury? Is this a joke?

De Gea is a disgrace.

 

[Champ]

It's macho not to go into the fetal position when you get raked with studs. What am I even reading right now?

Jesus Christ - He went down like he was in a trench in Verdun, because the back of his foot stung. It is not how a human being reacts to that pain. At all.

Risk further injury? Is this a joke?

De Gea is a disgrace.

You seem quite tense, is your muscle vest too tight?

You appear to miss the multiple incidents per game whereby players repeatedly clutch their apendages after collisions, tackles etc i guess,

which is strange as you questioned whether people on here actually watch the sport, i'm beginning to think that maybe you don't?

 

[KingCavani]

You seem quite tense, is your muscle vest too tight?

You appear to miss the multiple incidents per game whereby players repeatedly clutch their apendages after collisions, tackles etc i guess,

which is strange as you questioned whether people on here actually watch the sport, i'm beginning to think that maybe you don't?

Childish. It's honestly almost insulting to suggest there's anything macho about playing through pain in a contact sport. Any female player would be equally embarrassed watching that back.

Way to completely ignore my previous post - "the only reason players so often do that is to win fouls, get players carded and because there’s little to lose in doing so"

Do you really think they'd go down clutching their leg if the ball was coming to them and they had an open goal? There is a time and a place for theatrics and De Gea decided to play Princess Peach when Arsenal were attacking a corner. It's unbelievable. Guys like Oliver Khan would run through players to attack the ball. Peter Schmeichel once ran back to his goal with a torn hamstring. This guy cradles up when someone rakes the back of his foot and still his cultish like support defends it.

 

[Champ]

Childish.

Way to completely ignore my previous post - "the only reason players so often do that is to win fouls, get players carded and because there’s little to lose in doing so"

Do you really think they'd go down clutching their leg if the ball was coming to them and they had an open goal? There is a time and a place for theatrics and De Gea decided to play Princess Peach when Arsenal were attacking a corner. It's unbelievable. Guys like Oliver Khan would run through players to attack the ball. Peter Schmeichel once ran back to his goal with a torn hamstring. This guy cradles up when someone rakes the back of his foot and still his cultish like support defends it.

Calling me childish after a post like that! Wow.

It happens all the time - players getting into the box, opportunity to shoot and feel a bit of contact and they go down, plenty to lose in that situation yet it happens frequently.

A goalkeeper who is out of the game for whatever reason generally leads to the game being stopped, no matter what the occurance. This has again happened multiple times throughout the Premiership let alone globally.

It was clear DDG got an injury, he would have been expecting the whistle to go, he doesn't have a track record with doing this so it's not really churlish to say that i don't think.

 

[Gazautd18]

Childish. It's honestly almost insulting to suggest there's anything macho about playing through pain in a contact sport. Any female player would be equally embarrassed watching that back.

Way to completely ignore my previous post - "the only reason players so often do that is to win fouls, get players carded and because there’s little to lose in doing so"

Do you really think they'd go down clutching their leg if the ball was coming to them and they had an open goal? There is a time and a place for theatrics and De Gea decided to play Princess Peach when Arsenal were attacking a corner. It's unbelievable. Guys like Oliver Khan would run through players to attack the ball. Peter Schmeichel once ran back to his goal with a torn hamstring. This guy cradles up when someone rakes the back of his foot and still his cultish like support defends it.

I take it you saw Lianne Sanderson's comments regarding this.
Basically said as the last line of defence you at least make the effort to get up.
De Gea fecked around and found out.
Comments saying he had studs raked down his leg and it hurts.
I don't doubt that but to make a 6 foot something guy drop to the floor and curl up like he's been shot?
Then get up once he see's the ball in the back of the net?
Imagine Fergie in the dressing room at half time if that happened?
Joke.
Think Atkinson wanted to stop the game but wasn't sure what happened as was hoping the ball would go out of play.
ESR rightly finished off the move and by then it was to late.

The penalty decision though..Ugh..

 

[KingCavani]

Calling me childish after a post like that! Wow.

It happens all the time - players getting into the box, opportunity to shoot and feel a bit of contact and they go down, plenty to lose in that situation yet it happens frequently.

A goalkeeper who is out of the game for whatever reason generally leads to the game being stopped, no matter what the occurance. This has again happened multiple times throughout the Premiership let alone globally.

It was clear DDG got an injury, he would have been expecting the whistle to go, he doesn't have a track record with doing this so it's not really churlish to say that i don't think.

Yes, it is childish to act like goalkeepers not playing dead because they've been stepped on is somehow macho.

Players will go down to win fouls, which I said - They have something to gain (penalties, red cards) and little to lose and will make that choice based on whether they feel there's more to be gained. I have played football - That is why you do it. De Gea had nothing to gain and everything to lose and it went exactly how that situation should go. If play always stopped because a keeper goes down they could literally end any attack by the opposition. Think of how absolutely stupid that is.

De Gea wasn't injured. He was standing up seconds later. Here are the rules:

The Referee:
Injuries

• allows play to continue until the ball is out of play if a player is only slightly injured
• stops play if a player is seriously injured and ensures that the player is removed from the field of play.

De Gea, by absolutely any objective measure, was not seriously injured. Whether Atkinson was correct by luck or by choice is irrelevant - the reality is he was correct. The keeper was playing dead and looking for the ref to bail him out and was absolutely fine a minute later. I guarantee you if roles were reversed and that went against United everyone here would be on a rampage.

Go outside this bubble. Go and see what other football fans/pundits are saying about this incident. I haven't seen a single non-United/De Gea fan defending that stunt. It's an embarrassment. Cultish behaviour.

 

[RedDevil@84]

Old man blew the whistle, but no sound came out it seems

 

[KingCavani]

Remove the red tinted glasses and look at how people reacted to this incident. It's just amazing anyone would defend him or blame the ref. It's all on De Gea.

 

[Champ]

Yes, it is childish to act like goalkeepers not playing dead because they've been stepped on is somehow macho.

Players will go down to win fouls, which I said - They have something to gain (penalties, red cards) and little to lose and will make that choice based on whether they feel there's more to be gained. I have played football - That is why you do it. De Gea had nothing to gain and everything to lose and it went exactly how that situation should go. If play always stopped because a keeper goes down they could literally end any attack by the opposition. Think of how absolutely stupid that is.

De Gea wasn't injured. He was standing up seconds later. Here are the rules:


De Gea, by absolutely any objective measure, was not seriously injured. Whether Atkinson was correct by luck or by choice is irrelevant - the reality is he was correct. The keeper was playing dead and looking for the ref to bail him out and was absolutely fine a minute later. I guarantee you if roles were reversed and that went against United everyone here would be on a rampage.

Go outside this bubble. Go and see what other football fans/pundits are saying about this incident. I haven't seen a single non-United/De Gea fan defending that stunt. It's an embarrassment. Cultish behaviour.

Rob Green on BBC, defending DDGs actions and stating the goal should have been disallowed, you seen that?


I for one think the goal should have stood, just believe that Arsenal should have allowed us to score after.

But the simple fact is Atkinson should have blown. Every United player stated this, Arteta alluded to this also.

Again, how do you know DDG wasn't injured? He looked injured to me, and the medics.

Your reasoning is becoming contradictory, by stating that players who feign injury have little to lose and much to gain and will calculate this depending on the situation, you forget to realise that DDG was no doubt assuming that the ref would blow up if he was prone, as most of the players seemed to as well, hence much to gain.

I feel like you're stuck in the 70s with your viewpoints on football, so I bid you farewell. The games moved on and I shall do to.

 

[Sandikan]

Classic Atkinson performance.
Somehow misses an obvious pen from 10 yards away that I could see clearly from midway in the East stand, and since when do refs not blow up when a keeper is out on the floor. He wasn't even facing the right way for goodness sake.

 

[Alvaro Maestre]

I'm bald
But fair dues.

I wasnt talking about your head hairs .Good chat mate.

 

[SAFMUTD]

I couldn't believe he didn't called the foul on Fred a penalty, I mean it was clear as hell it was a foul and he was 4 meters away with clear vision of it. Thanks God for VAR, it's absolutely ridiculous that a referee in this level doesn't call that at first sight.

 

[Hester_manc]

Remember our 2-1 over West Ham this season? Atkinson did not give Ronaldo a penalty in almost the same situation as yesterday, where he did not give Fred a penalty, until he had to see it on VAR. But moments later, in the game against West Ham, he gave West Ham a penalty that should never have been given.

From 2:16:

 

[crossy1686]

Remove the red tinted glasses and look at how people reacted to this incident. It's just amazing anyone would defend him or blame the ref. It's all on De Gea.

It's nothing to do with red tinted glasses, Atkinson would have stopped the game for De Gea to get treatment if he had rolled his ankle, he wouldn't have just let the game carry on until Arsenal scored.

People are acting as though the goal was deserved because Fred stamped on De Gea and De Gea was play acting. Regardless of how the injury came about, regardless if he was or wasn't play acting, there's no way to know those factors. GK's get treatment when they're injured and the game stops, that's always been the way.

Just because it was Fred doesn't mean De Gea didn't get hurt and didn't need treatment to continue.

 

[miked99]

Not really sure what the ref was supposed to do in this scenario. He clearly didn't see that the keeper was down until a second before the shot was struck, and didn't see what the cause of that was. If he blows then he could rule out a perfectly good goal and then he'd be slated. If he doesn't blow, VAR can sort it out and that's what happened.

It was highly unsporting of Arsenal but by the laws of the game it's a valid goal.

 

[SambaBoy]

Got no problems with the goal. It stood rightfully.

Problem is the Fred penalty, good job we have VAR these days because you didn't need a replay to confirm that was a penalty. It was clear as day and I can't believe he ruled it out.

 

[Giggsyking]

I just asked my friend who is an international ref, he told me the ref should have stopped the game before the ball went in (more accurately when the ball was cleared from the box), they are instructed to analyze the situation when they see the keeper on the ground and communicate with the assistant refs, but Atkinson was slow and late.

 

[SER19]

I just asked my friend who is an international ref, he told me the ref should have stopped the game before the ball went in (more accurately when the ball was cleared from the box), they are instructed to analyze the situation when they see the keeper on the ground and communicate with the assistant refs, but Atkinson was slow and late.

This is so telling as in the replay Atkinson does as you'd expect and scans the box but for some reason just ignores de gea down. When he sees him again seconds later he still doesn't blow. To follow it up with not giving fred a pen was just incredible

 

[Giggsyking]

This is so telling as in the replay Atkinson does as you'd expect and scans the box but for some reason just ignores de gea down. When he sees him again seconds later he still doesn't blow. To follow it up with not giving fred a pen was just incredible

He is just incompetent. I dont think he has the quality to be a PL ref.

 

[KristianKrystal]

I think what irks me about the first goal is the line that "because he didn't blow his whistle before the ball crossed the line, he must give the goal". If a player commits a foul, say climbing on the back of a defender, while heading the ball in to the goal. The ref will rightly blow the whistle for the foul, after the ball has crossed the line. So where is the difference here? If the ref believes that the game should have been stopped (which 99/100 it will be for an injured goalkeeper), but he hasn't reacted quickly enough, to blow the whistle, why can't he pull the game back after the ball crosses the line?

I'm not saying that's what happened here, maybe the ref didn't want to stop the game in this situation for whatever reason, but this hard line of "the ball crossed the line, so it makes everything that happened before then moot", is what I find frustrating.

I hope De Gea has learned from it though.

Guess the difference is that no foul was committed in this case, and that it’s more sportsmanship/gentleman agreement to stop play. Without VAR maybe he could deem the goal invalid but with it it would be harder as there might not be an actual rule he could refer to?