By Will Schofield

Copyright dailystar

Nathan Collins was a lucky man on Saturday lunchtime as he avoided a sending off despite conceding a penalty while being last man. Manchester United had been subpar , but they were handed the chance to level the game from the spot when Collins reached out and dragged down his former team mate Bryan Mbeumo . Collins was handed a yellow card before VAR intervened – and, according to TNT Sports, they were checking the clear denial of a goalscoring opportunity. However, VAR decided that the on-field decision was correct after a three minute stoppage . A possible reason could be because of the double jeopardy rule – which prevents a player from being punished with both a red card and a penalty kick for a foul that was a genuine attempt to play the ball. If a player denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity with a foul inside the penalty area that was a genuine attempt to win the ball, they receive only a yellow card. VAR and referee Craig Pawson may have decided this was the case. However, Mike Dean was in disagreement with the decision on Soccer Saturday: “For me, it is a red card.” And fans agreed: “How is that not a sending off? That should be a red card for Nathan Collins, Bryan Mbeumo dragged down by Collins as he goes to get on the end of Matheus Cunha’s ball into the box.” “‘A penalty is enough’ is not a good reason for that not to be a sending off,” a second fumed. While a third shared: “Collins has denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and he’s not played the ball?” “How on earth can you not send Collins off there,” a fourth questioned. And another added: “How is that not a red card for Nathan Collins? If it’s a penalty it has to be red?” Bruno Fernandes would miss the resulting penalty from the spot as Brentford remained in the lead.