England’s refereeing body, Pro Ref, has admitted a significant VAR error after Erling Haaland’s decisive goal was allowed to stand in Manchester City’s 1-0 Premier League victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The controversy came in the 60th minute when Haaland converted Josko Gvardiol’s cross at the back post.
The assistant referee initially flagged the striker for offside, but VAR overturned the decision after determining that United defender Patrick Dorgu had played Haaland onside.
However, attention soon shifted to City player Enzo Fernandez, who was standing in an offside position when he attempted to head the ball in front of United defender Lisandro Martinez.
Although Fernandez failed to make contact with the ball, Pro Ref later acknowledged that his movement may have affected the defender’s ability to play it.
Under the Laws of the Game, being in an offside position is not in itself an offence.
A player can be penalised if they become involved in active play by, among other things, making an obvious action that clearly impacts an opponent’s ability to play the ball.
Pro Ref said VAR officials determined that Fernandez had not touched the ball, making the question of whether he interfered with an opponent a matter of judgement.
However, the video assistant referee should have recognised the potential impact of his movement and recommended that referee Michael Oliver review the incident on the pitchside monitor.
“In the same attack, it was established that Enzo Fernandez did not play the ball and therefore that makes any offside offence subjective,” Pro Ref said in a statement.
“However, on this occasion, the VAR did not recognise the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review.”
The refereeing body said it had contacted Manchester United to acknowledge what it considered an error of judgement and confirmed that the incident would be reviewed.
The decision drew criticism from United, with Martinez describing it as an injustice while manager Michael Carrick questioned how the offside rule had been applied.
Former players and commentators also argued that Fernandez’s movement had influenced Martinez and potentially goalkeeper Andre Onana.
The controversy overshadowed an already dramatic derby in which City spent much of the match with 10 men after Phil Foden was sent off in the first half for kicking out at United captain Bruno Fernandes following a tackle.
Despite being a player down for more than an hour, City held on to their lead and secured all three points, leaving United to rue both their failure to find an equaliser and the VAR decision that Pro Ref has now acknowledged was mishandled.