Referee omitted from final Premier League round after United handball controversy
Michael Salisbury was left off the Premier League’s final-day appointments after his handball call in Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest drew a formal correction.
Michael Salisbury has been left out of all final-round Premier League appointments after the controversy that engulfed Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford on Sunday, 17 May 2026. The omission is the clearest public sign yet that the league’s officiating body has taken the incident seriously, even as its internal grading process remains largely out of view.
The flashpoint came in the second half, when Matheus Cunha’s goal stood despite an apparent handball by Bryan Mbeumo in the build-up. The goal put Manchester United 2-1 ahead, and VAR recommended a pitchside review, but Salisbury stuck with his original decision. United went on to win 3-2, a result that sealed third place and left Bruno Fernandes having equalled the Premier League assists record in the same match.
The reaction was immediate and hostile. Gary Neville described the decision as a “shocker” and “ridiculous”, while Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira demanded clarity on the handball law and called for a meeting with the Premier League and PGMOL. For Forest, the issue was not simply the goal itself but the process that allowed it to stand after the video review had already flagged concern.
The Premier League Match Centre later said Salisbury had judged the incident accidental, but that explanation did little to calm the fallout. PGMOL later admitted the handball call was wrong and apologised to Nottingham Forest. That combination of public correction and private consequence explains why Salisbury’s absence from the final round matters beyond one disputed goal. In a system where referees are assessed behind closed doors, non-selection is often the most visible way to signal that an official has been moved out of the spotlight.
The episode also sharpened a wider argument about transparency in elite officiating. Clubs, managers and supporters are being asked to accept decisions that can swing results, European qualification and the narrative of a season, yet the standards used to judge referees are rarely explained in detail. In this case, a handball controversy from Old Trafford did not just alter one result. It exposed how much of the Premier League’s accountability structure is only visible when an official suddenly disappears from the next assignment list.
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