By Emmanuel Iyede
Manchester City’s dramatic 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford has taken another turn after Pro Ref admitted that VAR made an error in awarding Erling Haaland’s decisive goal.
The refereeing body acknowledged that VAR should have recommended an on-field review before Haaland’s 60th-minute strike was allowed to stand, after initially being ruled out for offside.
The admission came only hours after Sunday’s Manchester derby and has given fresh weight to Manchester United’s complaints over a decision that ultimately decided the match. Reuters reported that Pro Ref contacted United to acknowledge what it described as an “error of judgement” and confirmed that the incident would be reviewed.
City eventually held on for a 1-0 win despite playing much of the match with 10 men following Phil Foden’s dismissal, while Haaland’s goal became the defining talking point after the final whistle.
Why Haaland’s Goal Was Initially Ruled Out
When Haaland finished at the far post, the assistant referee initially raised the flag for offside.
VAR subsequently checked the incident and determined that Haaland himself was in an onside position because Manchester United defender Patrick Dorgu had played him onside.
That appeared to settle the matter until another part of the attack came under scrutiny.
Manchester City’s Enzo Fernandez was in an offside position as the ball travelled towards Haaland. Although Fernandez did not touch the ball, he moved towards it and appeared to challenge for the cross.
That movement became crucial because United defender Lisandro Martinez was also attempting to react to the ball.
The question was therefore not simply whether Fernandez touched the ball. It was whether his position and movement interfered with an opponent.
Pro Ref Admits VAR Missed Fernandez’s Impact
Pro Ref’s subsequent statement effectively acknowledged that this was the part of the incident VAR failed to properly assess.
The body said the officials had established that Fernandez did not play the ball, making the potential offside offence subjective.
But Pro Ref conceded that VAR failed to recognise the likely impact of Fernandez’s position on the defending player.
“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.
The organisation added that it had contacted Manchester United to acknowledge what it considered an error of judgement and that a review of the incident would take place.
The admission is particularly significant because the match had already generated debate over the standard and consistency of VAR decision-making in the Premier League.
The Argument Over Enzo Fernandez
The controversy centres on a basic but important distinction in the offside law.
A player does not necessarily have to touch the ball before an offside offence can be committed.
An attacker in an offside position can be penalised if he interferes with an opponent by obstructing the opponent’s ability to play the ball, challenging for it, attempting to play a nearby ball in a way that affects an opponent, or making an obvious action that impacts an opponent’s ability to play the ball.
That is why Fernandez’s movement became so important.
Replays showed the City midfielder moving towards the ball while Martinez was trying to defend the cross. United’s argument was that Fernandez’s action influenced Martinez’s decision-making and prevented him from dealing with the danger in the same way he otherwise might have.
Pro Ref’s admission does not simply say that Haaland was offside. In fact, it accepts that Haaland was onside. Instead, it acknowledges that the VAR process failed to properly consider whether Fernandez’s offside position affected the defender.
Premier League Match Centre Initially Defended the Decision
The controversy intensified because the Premier League Match Centre initially explained the decision by focusing on Fernandez’s failure to touch the ball.
In its post-match explanation, the Match Centre said VAR had checked the referee’s original offside decision and determined that Haaland was onside.
It also said VAR deemed that Fernandez, although in an offside position, had not played the ball.
That explanation immediately attracted criticism because the offside law does not require an attacking player to touch the ball before his actions can constitute interference.
The subsequent Pro Ref statement effectively shifted the focus from whether Fernandez touched the ball to whether his position affected the defender.
Gary Neville Saw the Problem Immediately
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville was among the pundits who criticised the decision while the match was still being played.
Neville argued that Fernandez was clearly attempting to play the ball and that his movement had an effect on Martinez.
“There is no doubt that Enzo is attempting to play the ball and putting Lisandro Martinez off,” Neville said on Sky Sports.
The former United defender predicted that the refereeing body would eventually acknowledge the mistake.
“We will see an apology from Pro Ref,” Neville said.
On his podcast, he was even more critical of the Match Centre’s explanation.
“I think they are ignoring the rule,” Neville said.
He argued that the Match Centre’s explanation had made the situation more difficult for the officials because it appeared to reduce the offside question to whether Fernandez had touched the ball.
Pro Ref’s later admission that VAR should have recommended an on-field review has now given Neville’s criticism considerably more weight, although the organisation described the incident as an error of judgement rather than issuing the explicit apology he had predicted.
Lisandro Martinez: ‘We Have to Go Home With This Injustice’
Martinez was at the centre of the controversy and made his frustration clear after the final whistle.
The United defender questioned how a decision could be reached after several officials had reviewed the incident.
“Every season the officials come to our club and spend an hour explaining the rules and they look so confident with that,” Martinez told Sky Sports.
He then criticised the failure of the officials to identify what he believed was obvious interference.
“Then after, five or six people [officials] doing this kind of mistake in the Premier League is unacceptable,” he said.
Martinez added: “We have to go home with this injustice.”
His comments were particularly significant because Fernandez’s movement directly involved the defender during the disputed phase.
Micah Richards Calls VAR Explanation ‘Nonsense’
Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards also rejected the argument that Fernandez’s failure to touch the ball meant there was no offence.
Asked whether Fernandez was clearly attempting to play the ball, Richards responded emphatically.
“One hundred per cent he is,” he said.
Richards argued that defenders can be affected by even the smallest movement from an attacker when reacting to a cross inside the penalty area.
“I’ve been in that position as a defender where any slight movement can make the difference for going for the ball or not, so of course it affects him,” Richards said.
He described the incident as a major officiating mistake.
“I just think they’ve got it so wrong,” he added.
Roy Keane: United Were Punished for Defending Well
Roy Keane also sided with Manchester United in the debate.
The former United captain argued that the club’s defenders had attempted to execute a good defensive line, only for Fernandez’s movement to interfere with the play.
“Fernandez is interfering with play. Basically, United have been punished for holding a good line,” Keane said.
He pointed to Fernandez’s position in the middle of the penalty area and his attempt to reach the ball.
“Their line is good. Fernandez is offside, and he goes to play the ball, so United are getting punished for good defending,” Keane added.
It Was Not Just a Controversial Goal
The Haaland decision came in a match that had already produced another major flashpoint.
Manchester City were reduced to 10 men after Phil Foden was sent off for kicking out at United captain Bruno Fernandes.
Despite being a man down for more than an hour, City survived sustained pressure from the hosts before Haaland’s goal eventually settled the derby.
Manchester City’s official match report confirmed that Foden was dismissed during the first half and that Haaland’s finish in the 60th minute secured the club’s ninth Manchester derby goal for the Norwegian.
The result also maintained City’s perfect start to the Premier League campaign, with the club taking maximum points from its opening four matches.
The wider significance of the result can also be understood against the backdrop of the new Champions League campaign. Manchester City are among the English clubs returning to Europe’s top competition this season, alongside Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa.
Who Were the Officials at Old Trafford?
- Referee: Michael Oliver
- Assistant referees: Stuart Burt and Tim Wood
- Fourth official: Paul Tierney
- VAR: Matt Donohue
- Assistant VAR: Blake Antrobus
The involvement of multiple officials is one reason the decision has generated such a strong reaction. The original on-field decision was overturned after a VAR review, yet Pro Ref has now acknowledged that the review should have gone further and the referee should have been sent to the pitchside monitor.
What Pro Ref’s Admission Actually Means
Importantly, Pro Ref has not said that Haaland himself was offside.
The organisation accepted that the Norwegian was in an onside position.
The error concerned the assessment of Fernandez’s involvement.
That distinction matters because the incident was ultimately about interfering with an opponent, rather than simply being in an offside position.
Pro Ref’s position is that the incident was subjective enough to require Michael Oliver to personally review the footage at the pitchside monitor.
In other words, the major failure was not necessarily the technology’s inability to establish Haaland’s position. It was the VAR team’s failure to identify that Fernandez’s movement created a subjective interference question requiring the referee’s intervention.
Premier League VAR Already Under Scrutiny
The admission comes at a time when Premier League authorities are placing greater emphasis on transparency around refereeing decisions.
The league has begun publishing weekly outcomes from its Key Match Incidents panel during the 2026/27 season, giving supporters greater visibility into how major refereeing decisions are assessed after matches.
The latest controversy at Old Trafford therefore arrives in an environment where VAR decisions are already receiving more formal scrutiny.
That makes the forthcoming review of the Haaland incident particularly significant.
What Happens Now?
Pro Ref has confirmed that the incident will be reviewed.
The admission does not change the result. Manchester City remain 1-0 winners and retain the three points from the Manchester derby.
But the decision will now become part of the growing debate over how VAR should handle subjective offside offences, particularly when an attacker does not touch the ball but appears to influence a defender’s ability to play it.
For Manchester United, the frustration is intensified by the fact that the disputed decision produced the only goal of the match.
For Pro Ref and the Premier League, the incident presents another test of whether VAR can deliver not only technically accurate decisions but also decisions that correctly apply the laws of the game.
The Bottom Line
Manchester City may have left Old Trafford with all three points, but Pro Ref’s admission has changed the conversation surrounding the derby.
Haaland was onside. That part of the VAR assessment was correct.
The problem was Fernandez.
He was in an offside position, moved towards the ball and appeared to influence Martinez’s attempt to defend the cross. Pro Ref has now accepted that VAR failed to recognise the likely impact of that movement and should have sent Michael Oliver to the monitor.
For United, that admission will offer little comfort because the result remains unchanged.
But for the Premier League’s refereeing system, the incident is another reminder that VAR is not simply about drawing offside lines. Sometimes the most important question is what an offside player’s movement does to everyone else around him.
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