By Tichaona Katsvamutima
Manchester City’s derby victory has been left under a cloud after refereeing body Pro Ref acknowledged that VAR made an “error of judgement” in allowing the goal that condemned Manchester United to a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford.
Erling Haaland scored the only goal of Sunday’s Manchester derby after an initial offside decision against him was overturned by VAR.
But while the technology established that Haaland was legally positioned, Pro Ref’s subsequent admission revealed that officials failed to properly assess another crucial part of the move — the involvement of Enzo Fernández.
Fernández was in an offside position when he attempted to reach the ball before it continued towards Haaland. Although he did not make contact, his movement potentially affected United defender Lisandro Martínez as he attempted to deal with the attack.
That, Pro Ref has now conceded, should have prompted referee Michael Oliver to be sent to the pitchside monitor.
“The on-field decision was offside against Erling Haaland – that was checked by VAR and he was found to be in an onside position,” Pro Ref said in a statement.
The statement added: “In the same attack, it was established that Enzo Fernandez did not play the ball and therefore that makes any offside offence subjective.”
It was that subjective element which VAR failed to adequately address.
“On this occasion, the VAR did not recognise the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review,” Pro Ref said.
In an unusual acknowledgement following such a decisive incident, the refereeing body confirmed in the statement that it had contacted Manchester United directly.
“Contact has been made with Manchester United this evening to acknowledge what we deem is an error of judgement. A review of the incident will take place,” the statement added.
The admission does not alter the result. Haaland’s goal remains on the scoresheet, Manchester City keep the three points and United are left with a defeat shaped by a decision the refereeing authorities themselves now accept should have been handled differently.
United coach Michael Carrick questioned the decision immediately after the match, describing it as “worrying” that the goal was allowed to stand.
The controversy is not ultimately about whether Haaland was offside — VAR established that he was not. It is about whether Fernández became actively involved in the move from an offside position by influencing Martínez’s attempt to defend it.
That question was never put to Oliver at the monitor.
The most troubling part of this episode is not that VAR failed to draw the correct line. It apparently drew that line correctly.
The failure came after that.
Officials established that Haaland was onside but did not give sufficient weight to what was happening immediately in front of him. Fernández did not need to touch the ball for his presence to matter; the question was whether his attempt to play it affected Martínez’s ability to defend.
That was precisely the judgement the referee should have been allowed to make from the monitor.
Pro Ref’s admission is welcome because football authorities should acknowledge mistakes rather than defend the indefensible. But an apology issued after supporters have gone home cannot replay a derby, recover a lost point or remove three already awarded to the opposition.
That is the uncomfortable weakness exposed by this incident.
VAR was created to correct clear mistakes before they become permanent. When the system instead identifies its own mistake after the result has entered the record, football is left with accuracy without remedy.
Manchester City won the derby.
But Pro Ref’s own statement ensures the argument over how they won it will last considerably longer than the 90 minutes.
