VAR Error in Manchester Derby: Webb's Disappointment
Howard Webb has admitted that VAR did not even check whether Enzo Fernandez was offside in the build-up to Erling Haaland’s controversial winner in the Manchester derby – and says the officials involved will not take charge again until after the international break.
Speaking on the first edition of this season’s “Match Officials Mic’d Up”, the Pro Ref chief refereeing officer called the mistake “really disappointing” and laid bare how the error unfolded in real time at Old Trafford.
Haaland thought he had settled a tight derby in the 60th minute, ghosting in at the back post to turn in Josko Gvardiol’s cross. The assistant’s flag went up, with the on-field team ruling the Manchester City striker offside.
The technology said otherwise.
Semi-automated offside showed Haaland was three centimetres onside from Gvardiol’s delivery, and after a brief check, VAR Matt Donohue advised that the goal should stand. The decision flipped the game – and instantly lit the touchpaper.
Within moments, replays highlighted a different problem. Fernandez, in a central position, had dived towards the ball, drawing defenders and clearly affecting how Manchester United’s back line reacted. He was in an offside position. The law is clear: you do not need to touch the ball to interfere with opponents.
Yet that possibility was never properly assessed.
“I was really disappointed with this outcome. We all are,” Webb said. “None more so than the officials themselves. They take a lot of personal pride in what they do and they're obviously hurting now, having fallen short in this situation.
“They'll not be officiating again until after the international break.”
The Mic’d Up audio, played publicly for the first time, exposed the narrowness of the VAR’s focus. At no stage did Donohue or his assistant Blake Antrobus seriously consider whether Fernandez was committing an offside offence. Their attention locked almost entirely on Haaland’s position and whether Fernandez had touched the ball.
“The VAR gets super-focused on Haaland,” Webb explained, adding that he had already shared the VAR audio and video with Manchester United. “He establishes he's onside, he thinks that's a good goal.
“He doesn't truly evaluate the full impact of Fernandez's position. He has a look to see if he touches the ball, because then that relates to potentially knocking it to Haaland, who goes on to score.
“In that moment, he gets tunnel vision. It's down to the rest of his team to pull him out of that tunnel, and unfortunately, that didn't happen on this occasion.”
The consequence of that tunnel vision was brutal for United’s defence. Lisandro Martinez initially tracked Haaland, but as the cross came in, he shifted towards Fernandez, anticipating a touch or a shot. That movement left Haaland free at the back post. The Norwegian did the rest.
From the studio, the reaction was scathing. Former England striker and BBC Sport pundit Wayne Rooney said on Match of the Day: “To not see that and recognise that Enzo Fernandez was in an offside position... anyone who has played the game at any level understands that and to get it so wrong is baffling.”
Webb did not attempt to soften the blow.
“What looks like a really clear subjective offside, because Fernandez doesn't touch the ball but still clearly impacts the play, doesn't get identified, and it's really disappointing,” he said. “This goal should've been disallowed. And highly unfortunately, it wasn't, and we'll review it, reflect upon it, and try to take the learning forward to prevent this unusual type of error from happening again.”
For all the technology, this was an old-fashioned officiating failure: the right lines drawn, the wrong incident judged. The question now is whether the promised “learning” arrives quickly enough to restore trust in a system that was supposed to remove exactly this kind of controversy from the Premier League’s biggest games.
