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Solskjaer on referees | 'We ju...

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Solskjaer on referees | 'We just have to accept decisions and move on'


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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer thinks that Premier League referees "have a difficult enough job" without having to deal with external pressure.

The Manchester United boss made his latest comments after the English FA opted not to punish him or United left-back Luke Shaw for remarks made about referee Stuart Attwell's decision not to award a penalty against Chelsea during Sunday's Premier League draw between the two sides.

After the game Solskjaer claimed that a web post on the official Chelsea website plus remarks from opposition managers were "influencing referees" while Shaw claimed that the referee said he didn't give United a penalty as it would cause controversy.

The FA concluded that the comments did not breach their rules or regulations and speaking on Tuesday ahead of the midweek trip to Crystal Palace, Solskjaer was keen to draw a line under the situation.

"That's water under the bridge, you move onto the next one," he said. "We all know it's a high-pressure situation and we just have to accept decisions when they are made and we move on.

"All my focus after the game has been on Palace [on Wednesday night], I've not looked back at all on that. I think the refs have a difficult enough job without extra pressure, so we should just leave them to it, make as many good decisions as they can."

MUFC Pat Nevin Manchester United's Harry Maguire (right) and Chelsea's Timo Werner (left) shake hands after the Premier League match at Stamford Bridge, London. Picture date: Sunday February 28, 2021.

The scoreless draw at Stamford Bridge meant that United closed the gap on leaders Manchester City to just 12 points and that could extend to 15 if City get a home win against Wolves on Tuesday night.

Solskjaer insisted that the pressure of his club being in a title race for the first time in years had did not contribute to a poor performance last weekend.

"Not at all, that's the Premier League, the pressure has not been there at all," he said. "We enjoy being as close to the top as possible, that's the quality of the Premier League, the opposition, the quality of tactics, the demands of the season.

"We've played I don't know how many games, there's Europa League, the Premier League, the FA Cup. It's the strangest year for all for everyone. Pressure, no? That's just the Premier League."


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Chelsea Crystal Palace Luke Shaw Manchester City Manchester United Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Premier League Stamford Bridge Stuart Attwell

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