“Football’s never been like that” - Micah Richards delivers verdict on whether referee made mistake before Manchester United goal vs Arsenal

Micah Richards has delivered a verdict on whether referee Anthony Taylor made a mistake before Manchester United scored their opener against Arsenal. The two sides clashed at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday (March 9), with the game ending as a 1-1 draw.

However, just ahead of Bruno Fernandes' opener, there was a controversial moment from Anthony Taylor. The referee set the Gunners' wall at 11.2 yards from the ball, rather than the usual regulation of 10 yards. This gave Fernandes the opportunity to curl the ball just over the wall and into the top corner.

However, Micah Richards does not believe that Taylor should be blamed despite the controversial measurement. He said on The Rest is Football podcast (via TBR Football):

“I think a lot of people would be asking, who aren’t die-hard fans, what does it matter if the wall’s further back, you can get the ball up and down because you’ve got more space to get the ball up and down so it’s more difficult for the goalkeeper.”

“But if we’re scrutinizing that, the referee took 10 steps, didn’t he? If we actually watch the footage back, we can’t be blaming the referee for that because if that happens, I think now in football, we’re over-analyzing everything. The referee’s human, he’s walked out and took 10 steps…”

Richards continued, explaining that there was no need to overly analyze the referee's error:

“You’ve got all these amazing technologies nowadays that give you precise [answers] but football’s never been like that, has it? And you can’t expect the referee to get a ruler out and start measuring exact lengths.”

After Manchester United's opener, Arsenal found the equalizer through Declan Rice in the 74th minute to gain a point.

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Arsenal boss admits Manchester United captain 'took advantage' of referee error

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta claimed that Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes took advantage of the referee's error to score the opening goal. Speaking to the press after the game, the Spanish coach said (via TBR Football):

“Football is for street-smart players and if Bruno has done that and he’s capitalized on that, he was more clever than us and the referee. He’s done it, it was a goal, they took advantage of that. Football is for clever people.”

Arsenal will now turn their focus on the UEFA Champions League, where they have a 7-1 advantage over PSV Eindhoven in their Round of 16 tie. The second leg will take place at the Emirates Stadium (March 12).

Manchester United also have to navigate the second leg of Round of 16 in the Europa League against Real Sociedad at Old Trafford this midweek (March 13). The two sides played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Anoeta Stadium.