Key Takeaways
- Pro Ref acknowledged an “error of judgment” after VAR failed to check whether Enzo Fernandez was offside before Erling Haaland’s winning goal in Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Manchester United.
- Audio footage revealed the VAR room telling referee Michael that “Harland is in an onside position” without ever assessing Fernandez interfering with play.
- Pro Ref chief refereeing officer Howard Webb admitted he was “really disappointed with this outcome” and confirmed the involved officials are stood down until after the international break.
Audio exposes review failure in Manchester derby winner
Referees’ body Pro Ref has admitted to an error of judgment after releasing audio and video footage from Manchester City’s controversial 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the Premier League. The incident centered on Erling Haaland’s decisive goal, which stood after video assistant referees failed to evaluate whether Enzo Fernandez was committing an offside infraction by interfering with play.
Haaland’s finish had initially been flagged offside on the pitch before being reviewed at Stockley Park. The newly disclosed recording captures the rapid exchanges between the match officials as they evaluated the trajectory of the ball. In the VAR room, the team quickly established that no attacker had glanced the ball on its way through, confirming: “no touch there confirmed no touch.”
After studying multiple angles to verify that the ball traveled through without a deflection, the officials observed a “clear gap” and agreed: “It’s not a touch.” Satisfied with the path of the ball, the video assistant referee communicated directly with on-pitch referee Michael: “Michael confirm confirming that you need to change your decision to goal. Harland is in an onside position. Final decision is goal. Check complete.”
Officials sidelined after tunnel vision oversight
Despite the exhaustive inspection of Haaland’s positioning and the lack of touch, the video referees completely overlooked Fernandez standing in the center. While the ball did not deflect off Fernandez, his positioning impeded opponents attempting to clear the danger, constituting an offside offense under the laws of the game that should have prompted an on-field review.
Sky News sports correspondent Rob Harris explained that the review booth suffered from critical tunnel vision during the high-stakes moment: “Well, this is ultimately shown that despite technology, in this case in football, ultimately still relying on humans and in this case human error.” Harris noted that officials were so entirely consumed by checking Haaland that they failed to assess the broader context of the attack.
Chief refereeing officer at Pro Ref Howard Webb addressed the incident publicly, expressing deep frustration over the missed check. “Yeah, I was really disappointed with this outcome,” Webb said. “We all are. None more so than the officials themselves. They take a lot of personal pride in what they do and and they’re obviously hurting now having fallen short in this situation.”
Webb confirmed immediate disciplinary measures for those involved in the oversight, adding: “They’ll not be officiating again until after the international break.” The Premier League loss left Manchester United with only four points from their opening four fixtures, matching their joint-worst start to a campaign as debate intensifies over the application of technology in the sport.
