Ruben Amorim's first match in charge of Manchester United against Ipswich was bizarrely abandoned due to a fire alarm at Stockley Park.
Stockley Park, which is 110 miles from Ipswich's home stadium, Portman Road, is where the Premier League's video assistant referees make remote VAR decisions and communicate with the on-pitch referees during every match.
The fire alarm, which went off in the 37th minute with United leading 1-0 at Ipswich, caused the match to be temporarily halted.
Captains Bruno Fernandes and Sam Morsy were called into the middle by match referee Anthony Taylor, who explained the situation before deciding to continue with his assistants Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn – and without the use of VAR.
Moments later, Ipswich winger Omari Hutchinson leveled the scoreboard with a stunning goal in the 43rd minute.
Manchester United's new boss can have no complaints about the brilliant equalizer, at least as far as VAR is concerned, as there was no controversial issue for the video technology to review had it worked.
Referees PGMOL will have breathed a sigh of relief at the straightforward nature of Hutchinson's goal, having already been at the center of several controversial cases this campaign.
VAR was active again after Hutchinson's celebration, meaning the two teams headed 1-1 at halftime.
Fans reacted mockingly to the VAR malfunction on social media.
“Best league in the world,” one fan posted dismissively on X.
“Great news,” a second added.
'Is this a joke?' said another, who accompanied his post with a crying emoji.
Referring to the famous chant that could often be heard on the terraces on match days, a fourth said mockingly: 'Is there a fire drill?'
Shortly after the initial stoppage, a statement from the Premier League Match Center on social media platform
Marcus Rashford, who had been trusted by Amorim to take the lead for United, opened the scoring early with a clever strike, making the Portuguese manager only the second regular in Premier League history to come within two in his first match minutes scored. the leadership.
The other, who also managed Manchester United earlier in his career, was David Moyes, who achieved the feat with Everton in 2002.
Manchester United were 13th in the Premier League when Amorim arrived at Old Trafford, having dropped to 14th before the sacking of former manager Erik ten Hag.
Club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy was appointed interim boss of the Red Devils and endured an unbeaten run before Amorim opted to relieve him of his coaching duties upon arrival in Manchester.
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