Manchester United were unsuccessful in an appeal to the Premier League to get Marcus Rashford credited for his header against Aston Villa, which has gone down as a Tom Heaton own goal, The Athletic can reveal.



The club made official representations to the Goal Accreditation Panel, arguing Rashford should have been given the strike because the ball was spinning in anyway as it clipped Heaton’s back. But a second panel agreed with the first and the original decision will stand.



United submitted footage taken from their own analysts’ cameras in a bid to persuade the three-person committee but it is understood that a directive has been issued that shots hitting post or bar and deflecting in off a goalkeeper should be ruled an own goal.



According to sources, there was not enough proof that the ball would have gone in unaided by Heaton. But others insist there was insufficient evidence to show the opposite as true either, and therefore the goal should...