Why was Man Utd goal and penalty given at Fulham?

Manchester United were awarded a penalty against Fulham when Calvin Bassey dragged Mason Mount to the ground in the 33rd minute at Craven Cottage.

The foul was not given on the field but referee Chris Kavanagh was sent to the screen by the video assistant referee (VAR) and the decision was overturned.

Bruno Fernandes blazed the spot-kick over the bar, but the penalty award left some watching perplexed, given United full-back Luke Shaw appeared to commit a very similar foul just yards away on Fulham's Rodrigo Muniz at the same time.

Ruben Amorim's side went on to take the lead in the 58th minute from a corner, with Leny Yoro's header deflecting off Muniz.

As the ball came in, though, Yoro appeared to push Bassey in the back with both hands, but this time VAR did not intervene.

Let the Ask Me Anything team explain why the penalty was given, but the foul before Manchester United's opener was not.

At first glance, the penalty decision is a simple one with Bassey grabbing Mount and throwing him to the ground.

Given the Premier League's stated aim to crackdown on pulling and holding at corners this season, in part brought in to help avoid time being wasted by referees delaying set-pieces being taken to warn the players involved, it was no surprise it was given.

"Holding happens in different places within the penalty area - sometimes on the ball, sometimes off the ball and it varies in terms of extremes," Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer said before the start of the season.

"What we've said to the officials is if you get one of those situations where one player is clearly dragging another one to the floor in an extreme non-football action, even if it's off the ball, we expect the referee to see it."

The complication comes from the fact Shaw also seemed to be fouling Muniz, just behind the Bassey and Mount incident.

The United left-back had both arms wrapped around the Fulham forward and both ended up on the ground.

While Shaw's grab was considered a foul, the penalty was still awarded because Bassey was deemed to have committed his foul first.

But not everyone agrees.

"The two fouls are simultaneous," former England goalkeeper Rob Green told BBC Sport.

"Shaw has two arms round his opponent in a holding action at the same time as Bassey does. So a penalty seems harsh."

Further Fulham frustration followed when United took the lead at Craven Cottage.

French defender Yoro had both hands on Bassey's back, but as the referee did not blow for a free-kick, it was determined there was not enough force in the action to warrant a foul.

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