Alan Shearer tears into VAR with Man United rant after controversial penalty decision

Newcastle United and Premier League icon Alan Shearer has called out Michael Oliver for getting involved in the penalty which cost Manchester United a point against West Ham.

With the scores locked at 1-1, the home side appealed for a spot kick when Danny Ings went down under minimal contact from Matthijs de Ligt. Initially, the on-field decision was to wave play on.

However, to the bemusement of the United squad, VAR official Oliver intervened and the decision was made to overturn the initial decision and award the penalty. Jarrod Bowen stepped up and scored to seal the three points for the Hammers to compound United's misery.

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Explaining on X (was Twitter) what had happened, the Premier League Match Centre posted: "The referee did not award a penalty to West Ham for a challenge by De Ligt on Ings. The VAR deemed there was sufficient contact on Ings' lower leg and recommended an on-field review.

"The referee overturned his original decision and awarded a penalty." Speaking at full-time, though, Shearer was flabbergasted by the decision by the officials and unleashed a blistering rant.

"Awful decision," Shearer told Premier League productions. "That's a terrible decision whether you like Manchester United or not, and I don't understand why Michael Oliver [VAR] got involved."

Reflecting on the game as a whole, though, Shearer congratulated the Hammers on securing the win. "Well done Julen Lopetegui, because his team really were awful in that first half," he concluded.

"After the three changes, much more energy, much more spark. West Ham punished Man United, good one-touch football. It's a huge day for