Fulham manager Alvaro Arbeloa has suggested that Manchester United received favourable treatment in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage because of the VAR controversy over Erling Haaland’s winner in the Manchester derby .

Fulham went ahead in the 63rd minute after Lisandro Martinez turned into his own net, though United rescued a point late on as Matheus Cunha’s effort deflected past Bernd Leno in the 89th minute.

Both sides wasted chances in a game that was sluggish at times, though there were no particularly controversial calls made by either referee Peter Bankes or the VAR team.

Nevertheless, Arbeloa complained about the refereeing, including a decision to award Harry Maguire a free-kick near halfway just 35 seconds before the equalising goal.

“We were so close. So, so close. We were a little bit unlucky again. We knew it would be difficult against this big team. Also, we knew what happened last week,” said Arbeloa after the full-time whistle.

“We have seen what the referee have been doing in all the matches, so it was a difficult game. And we were unlucky.

“You can see before they scored, the foul against Maguire; it's a guy who is 100 kilos. Every decision was for them and I knew after the game against Man City that they [would not] let Manchester United lose here," he said.

Arbeloa was referring to last week’s incident in the Manchester derby, where Erling Haaland’s winning goal was incorrectly awarded . Pro Ref later issued an apology to Manchester United , with VAR assistant Matt Donohue stood down for this weekend’s games.