Why United don't get preferential treatment, despite penalty let-off against Fulham
Roberto Mancini and everyone associated with Manchester City will no doubt be seething over referee Michael Oliver's failure to award Fulham an 89th minute penalty at Old Trafford on Monday.
TV replays confirmed Oliver's decision to be erroneous - Michael Carrick had clipped the left heel of Danny Murphy, sending him sprawling to the ground, a penalty the only course of action.
But Oliver thought otherwise, waved play on and United held out to secure a nervy 1-0 win to establish a three-point lead over City in the title race with eight games to go.
Even Sir Alex Ferguson, the master of the smokescreen or obfuscation of the truth, could not dress the situation up as anything but a major let-off for United, acknowledging the legitimacy of Fulham's claim.
But was the decision compelling evidence of long perceived leniencey towards United from referees? Conspiracy theorists will suggest as much, citing the fear Ferguson strikes into officials as reason for Oliver's contentious decision.
Fulham boss Martin Jol certainly thought so, suggesting, in loose terms, that Oliver had bottled it, that the 27-year-old official had lacked the courage to make such a big call against United at Old Trafford.
Whataver the reason for Oliver's decision, the suggestion that United are dealt more favours by officials than other Premier League clubs is one that simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny.
Statistics provided by Opta confirmed only West Brom, with four, have conceded more penalties at home this season than United, who have given away three, blowing out of the water the argument about preferential treatment.
United fans will also point to November 26, when Rio Ferdinand made a legitimate challenge on Hatem Ben Arfa to win the ball, only for ref Mike Jones to award a penalty.
Demba Ba scored from the spot and Newcastle secured a 1-1 draw, leaving Sir Alex Ferguson to describe Jones's decision as a "travesty".
Every team suffers from miscarriages of justice when it comes to refereeing decisions. Equally, every team benefits from fortune when a decision that should go against them ends up going in their favour.
The very nature of having referees officiating games, rather than relying on video evidence, means there will always be an element of human error involved in the making of decisions.
United enjoyed good fortune with the penalty decision against Fulham. Yet City have also benefited from wrong decisions, notably on Saturday when Gareth Barry poleaxed Stoke's Glenn Whelan yet somehow managed to avoid a caution and conceding a penalty.
Yet there is no merit in delving into an analysis of every contentious decision, for those with allegiances will always argue their particular team has it worse than others, when the reality is that every team has its fair share of dodgy decisions over the course of a season.
If United go on to claim a 20th title, it will not be because Oliver failed to award Fulham a penalty and so denied them the chance to claim a point at Old Trafford.
It will be because City have fallen within sight of the finish line and lacked the nerve to see out the title race while United, as they have done with relentless consistency down the years, know how to get the job done. It's that simple.
