Shaw and Solskjaer avoid FA action after post-match criticism of referee

Luke Shaw and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will not face action from the Football Assocation for their comments about referee Stuart Attwell after Manchester United’s 0-0 draw at Chelsea on Sunday. 

United felt hard done by in the first half at Stamford Bridge when the video assistant referee (VAR) brought to Attwell’s attention a possible handball by Callum Hudson-Odoi in his own penalty area. 

The incident occurred just before a tussle with Mason Greenwood, who subsequently also appeared to touch the ball with his arm. 

Attwell was advised to review Hudson-Odoi’s action on the pitchside monitor, yet no penalty was given despite replays appearing to show the Chelsea wing-back’s hand in an unnatural position when coming into contact with the ball.

Shaw claimed in a post-match interview with Sky Sports that Attwell had told United captain Harry Maguire giving them a penalty would “cause a lot of talk after”. 

United later clarified that Shaw misheard Maguire’s conversation with the official. 

While Solskjaer refused to explicitly repeat Shaw’s accusations, he was aware of what was said and made no attempt to shut them down, before also insisting it was “100 per cent” a penalty. 

He then went on to accuse Chelsea of influencing referees via content published to their website ahead of the match, with Maguire’s recent VAR brushes the focus of the article in question. 

Yet despite the comments made by Shaw and Solskjaer, neither is set to face any disciplinary action, with the FA not considering them to be in breach of the rules and regulations.