Alvaro Arbeloa accused the referees of not wanting Manchester United to lose after Fulham were denied a late winner in their 1-1 draw. Matheus Cunha's deflected 89th-minute equaliser was preceded by a controversial free-kick awarded to United for a foul on Harry Maguire on the halfway line. Arbeloa called the decision soft and claimed referee Michael Oliver and his officials gave "all fouls" to United, linking it to the perceived error in the Manchester derby where Erling Haaland's winner was allowed to stand.

He stated: "I knew after the game against Man City that they would not let Manchester United lose here." Arbeloa later rowed back slightly, saying his English may have caused misunderstanding and that he preferred to focus on his team's performance rather than the officials. Former players Ashley Young and Louis Saha both supported the Maguire foul call during analysis on Super Sunday, with Young stating it was "definitely a foul" and Saha noting it might be soft but was clever play from Maguire. The match also featured a late handball incident involving Calvin Bassey that went unpunished, adding further controversy to the result.