Why Scott McTominay's goal for Manchester United vs Fulham was ruled out for offside

Scott McTominay saw his early effort at Fulham ruled out after VAR adjudged Harry Maguire to have been offside in the build-up.

Manchester United thought they'd taken the lead inside the opening few minutes when McTominay tapped in from close range. The midfielder once again found himself in the right place to finish Alejandro Garnacho's square pass, following an inch-perfect free-kick delivery from Bruno Fernandes.

But after a lengthy check, VAR assistant Jarret Gillett sent referee John Brooks over to the screen for a rare subjective offside review. Maguire was slightly beyond the last line of the Fulham defence but did not touch the ball.

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But after an on-field review, Brooks adjudged Maguire to have made a deliberate play towards the ball, impacting the game. He disallowed the goal.

"Your initial thought is that it’s onside, but Maguire does try to make contact with the ball and therefore it’d be offside," Jermaine Jenas explained on TNT Sports commentary duties. "Right there, he tries to play the ball at the end and that movement to win the ball is what makes him active.

"This is ridiculous [the on-field review] though. Are we just going to pass it around the house until someone actually makes a decision? The be-all-and-end-all is that they got the decision right in the end but when it’s going against you, it’s really going against you if you’re Manchester United right now."

Erik ten Hag cut a frustrated figure on the touchline as he pleaded with the fourth official to explain the decision. Maguire was just inches past the last line of defence and while he didn't touch the ball, his