The controversy surrounding Erling Haaland’s winning goal in Manchester City’s derby victory over Manchester United has taken another turn, with the Premier League refereeing body admitting that VAR made an error of judgement.
Haaland scored what proved to be the decisive goal in the 60th minute at Old Trafford, converting Josko Gvardiol’s cross at the back post. The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but VAR intervention led referee Michael Oliver to overturn the decision after determining that Patrick Dorgu’s boot had played Haaland onside.
However, questions immediately emerged over another player involved in the incident, United’s Enzo Fernandez.
Fernandez was in an offside position in the middle of the six-yard box and appeared to be attempting to reach Gvardiol’s cross. Although he did not make contact with the ball, his movement raised questions over whether he had interfered with play or affected United defender Lisandro Martinez.
Pro Ref later acknowledged that the incident should have been reviewed by Oliver at the pitchside monitor.
“It was established that Enzo Fernandez did not play the ball and therefore that makes any offside offence subjective,” the refereeing body said.
“However, on this occasion, the VAR did not recognise the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review.”
Pro Ref added that it had contacted Manchester United to acknowledge what it considered an “error of judgement” and said the incident would be reviewed.
The decision left United furious, particularly because Haaland’s goal ultimately settled a fiercely contested derby.
Martinez described the decision as an “injustice”, while United manager Michael Carrick said he was confused by the explanation behind the ruling.
“I think it was offside,” Martinez said. “It’s so hard because you lose a derby, you lose three points at home, and every season they’re coming to our club, they explain for one hour the rules, and they look so confident with that, and then after five or six people doing these kind of mistakes in the Premier League, it’s unacceptable.”
Carrick was equally concerned about the interpretation of the offside law.
“If that’s the interpretation of not interfering in the game now, that’s really worrying for me,” he said. “It’s a staggering explanation.”
The controversy came in a match that had already been dominated by refereeing debate.
Manchester City were reduced to 10 men in the first half after Phil Foden was shown a straight red card in the 23rd minute for kicking out at United captain Bruno Fernandes.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, City eventually found a way to win, with Haaland’s goal proving decisive.
Why the Haaland goal caused controversy
The initial offside decision against Haaland appeared straightforward, with the striker seemingly beyond United’s defensive line when the cross came in.
However, VAR’s review showed that Dorgu’s boot was keeping Haaland onside.
The problem, according to the subsequent analysis, was Fernandez’s position and movement.
Gvardiol’s cross took a slight deflection off Dorgu before travelling towards Haaland at the far post. Fernandez, meanwhile, was positioned centrally and threw himself towards the ball in an apparent attempt to head it.
Although he failed to make contact, the offside law also covers situations where a player in an offside position clearly attempts to play a nearby ball and that action impacts an opponent.
Martinez was positioned directly behind Fernandez as the cross came into the area, raising the question of whether Fernandez’s movement influenced the defender’s ability to respond to the ball.
The argument, therefore, was not simply whether Fernandez touched the ball. The key issue was whether his attempt to play it affected an opponent.
Pro Ref’s admission indicates that VAR should have recognised that subjective element and recommended that Oliver review the incident himself.
That would have meant the referee reviewing a goal that had already been overturned by VAR, only to potentially restore the original decision and rule it out for Fernandez’s offside offence.
Several pundits also criticised the decision.
Wayne Rooney said Fernandez’s movement clearly affected Martinez, while Gary Neville predicted that the refereeing body would eventually acknowledge the mistake.
“I think we’ll see some sort of apology from the referee’s association,” Neville said, arguing that Fernandez was attempting to play the ball and put Martinez off.
Micah Richards also criticised the officiating, saying referees had a “bad day” after both the Foden red card and Fernandez incident.
Despite the controversy, Richards stressed that it did not diminish City’s overall performance.
The decision has now been formally acknowledged by Pro Ref, with the body confirming that the incident will be reviewed after VAR failed to recommend an on-field review.
