A few fair points, but even if every single set of fans seem to believe that, it doesn't mean it can never be true. Some fans thought Barcelona paid refs, happened to be true but it doesn't mean every club accused by fans actually did that. Each club has a different set of circumstance and narratives. It seems United's downfall is something that gets a lot of money generated, so even a small set back the media will surely turn it into a shit storm. This shit storm can be orchestrated by the ref himself, as Clattenburg has admitted happens. These circumstances, narratives and stories gets brought into games and has an affect on fans. Yet, the emotional perception of where the club is headed has nothing to do with critiquing the level of refereeing in the league.
We have done well this season. We've played better football than most teams, for longer periods except City and Arsenal who has been better and some more entertaining like Brighton etc. But we're right up there, and with a few breaks on the refereeing part we could have been very close to top. Not good enough yet, but a more than acceptable season. Yet, here we are being fecked over by refs and now losing top 4 to Liverpool is the talking point. And we're Back to the emotional perception bit, a club in decline etc. No talk of how these decisions push that narrative
I can go into detail. Why do we rarely see replays of our penalty claims when VAR "takes a quick look and deem it not penalty"? You never get to actually see the whole situation zoomed in and replayed on the broadcast, but every time that happens to the team we play, they replay the situation a lot. It's super weird. It's an actual difference in the directing of the broadcast. Same with VAR, they pick and choose what to show and what not to show to affect the game as they please. Maybe it's not always intended like that but that's what happens.