Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher admits he understands why referee Simon Hooper did not award Nottingham Forest a first-half penalty during their 2-0 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.
United ran the risk of finding themselves 1-0 down within the opening 20 minutes at the City Ground after a corner delivery struck the arm of captain Harry Maguire. The England defender was guilty of seeing the ball hit his arm, sparking protests from those of a Forest persuasion.
Despite VAR taking a look at the incident, they decided that there was not enough in it to warrant Forest being granted the opportunity to get their noses in front from 12 yards. Boss Steve Cooper slammed the decision in his post-match interview, describing it as a 'really poor error'.
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However, Gallagher, who officiated in the Premier League between 1992 and 2007, could see why Hooper did not point to the spot, pointing to the amount of bodies inside the 18-yard box at the time of the incident and that Maguire had headed it himself first.
"I understand why he didn't give it," Gallagher told Sky Sports. "It is so congested [inside the penalty area] and two players go to head the ball.
"I feel, also, Maguire might head it himself first. But when you look at it he runs the risk, under the new directives, about his arm being up, but every player has got their arm up, there.
"I think we probably would have been debating more if the referee had given a penalty than what we are now."
Gallagher added: "I think he's [Maguire] run a massive risk, but I understand why it has not been given because of the amount of traffic in there. I also think it may well have come off his head.
"It's difficult, isn't it? This handball [rule] has become the most talked about law in the game."
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