The Premier League's referees' body, "PGMOL," has admitted that a "judgment error" occurred in awarding Erling Haaland's goal, which gave Manchester City a 1-0 win over Manchester United the day before yesterday.
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While City's players were celebrating a thrilling win in the Manchester derby, numerous questions were raised about the validity of Haaland's decisive goal in a match that saw plenty of refereeing controversy.
The Norwegian striker scored in the 60th minute at Old Trafford, converting a cross from Joško Gvardiol into the net at the far post, but the referee initially disallowed it for offside.
After a VAR review, the goal was awarded, after lines showed that Patrick Dorgu's foot had kept Haaland in an onside position.
But the controversy centered on Enzo Fernández, who was in an offside position in a more central area than Haaland, and lunged trying to play the ball with his head, and whether his involvement affected the play.
PGMOL said in a statement that it was proven Enzo Fernández did not touch the ball, so determining whether an offside offense occurred becomes a matter of judgment. It added that in this case, the VAR official failed to recognize the potential impact of his position and should have recommended a pitch-side review. It continued, saying Manchester United had been contacted that evening to acknowledge what they consider a judgment error, and that the incident would be reviewed.
Manchester United defender Lisandro Martínez described what happened as "an injustice," while manager Michael Carrick said he felt "confused" by the decision.
Foden Sent Off
Haaland's goal came after Manchester City were forced to play with ten men from the first half, after Phil Foden received a straight red card for kicking United captain Bruno Fernandes.
Referee Michael Oliver sent off Foden in the 23rd minute, after he kicked Fernandes in the midsection while the latter was on the ground.
When Haaland's goal was initially disallowed for offside, few questioned the decision, as the city striker appeared at first glance to be ahead of United's defensive line.
But the VAR lines showed that Dorgu's foot had put Haaland in an onside position, shifting the issue to Fernández's position and the extent of his impact on the play.
Gvardiol's cross received a slight touch off Dorgu's foot before reaching Haaland at the far post, while Fernández clearly lunged trying to head the ball in the middle of the six-yard box, but did not touch it.
Fernández appeared to be in an offside position, ahead of Dorgu's foot, but VAR deemed the goal valid because he did not touch the ball, while Martínez was also moving toward it.
The Premier League Match Centre said via X: "The VAR reviewed the referee's decision to disallow the goal for offside and determined Haaland to be onside, and recommended the goal be awarded. The VAR also determined that although Fernández was in an offside position, he did not play the ball."
Major Confusion
The irony of the incident is that the goal was initially disallowed for the wrong reason. The assistant referee raised his flag against Haaland, even though the Norwegian striker was not offside.
But ultimately, the goal should have been disallowed because of Fernández's offside position and his impact on play.
There's a key part of the offside law that applies to Fernández's case, as a player is considered offside if he: "clearly attempts to play a ball which is close to him when this action impacts an opponent."
Both parts must be true for the offense to be called. It's possible for a player in an offside position to attempt to play the ball without committing an offense, but his action must also have an impact on an opposing player.
As the cross arrived, Fernández threw himself trying to head the ball, with Martínez directly behind him.
VAR official Matt Donohue should have asked himself whether Fernández's action affected Martínez in other words, if Fernández hadn't jumped trying to head the ball, would Martínez have made a different decision in dealing with it?
If the ball had been out of reach for both Fernández and Martínez, a strong case could be made for awarding the goal, and there would have been no offside offense if Fernández hadn't attempted to play the ball but he did.
With the ball passing only about a yard from Martínez as well, it becomes extremely difficult to argue that Fernández did not commit an offside offense.
There's an additional argument suggesting that Fernández's movement also affected the positioning of Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens.
The Correct Procedure
Since the goal was initially disallowed on the grounds of Haaland's offside an incorrect decision it was necessary to overturn that decision.
But after establishing that Haaland was not offside, the VAR should have asked Michael Oliver to go to the screen to review the judgment-based offense concerning Fernández.
That would have created a strange situation, where a disallowed goal is reviewed only to remain disallowed in the end, but that is the procedure that should have been followed.
Fernández's offside offense was clear, and the incident will go down as a VAR error.
This raises the question of whether the VAR became too preoccupied with searching for the possibility that Fernández touched the ball. If so, did he forget that Fernández was in an offside position and fail to examine the question of his impact on an opponent? That seems the most logical explanation for what happened.
A similar situation occurred previously during the Arsenal vs Brentford match in February 2023, when a goal was not disallowed despite Christian Nørgaard being in an offside position.
Martínez: "We Go Home With This Injustice"
Since Haaland's goal decided the match, it was unsurprising that Manchester United felt angry about the decision.
Martínez said: "I think it was offside. What I can't understand is the rules. I want to stay calm right now, and I want to control myself."
He added: "It's really difficult, because you lose a derby match and lose three points at home, and every season they come to our club and explain the rules to us for an hour, and they seem so confident in what they're saying."
He continued: "Then after that there are five or six people, and they make mistakes like this in the Premier League. This is unacceptable."
He concluded: "It's the best league in the world. You have the best teams in the world and the best players in the world, and now we have to go home with this injustice."
Carrick: "A Remarkable Interpretation"
Carrick also expressed his confusion, saying: "We've now put all these systems into the game, and we have people in offices with all the screens in front of them to make a decision like this."
He added: "The more concerning thing is whether this is the interpretation of football now. If this is the interpretation of not interfering with play, that's extremely worrying for me. It's a remarkable interpretation."
He continued: "The decision won't change the season, but it had a huge impact on the match."
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, appearing on BBC's "Match of the Day," said: "It's definitely offside. Martínez was affected by Fernández's movement, and Fernández was offside."
He added: "I'm so tired of VAR. It's dreadful, it strips the match of all its emotion, and not seeing this situation... anyone who has played football knows it's offside. Making a mistake of this size is baffling."
Former Tottenham midfielder Danny Murphy said: "If Enzo hadn't made that movement, Martínez would have stayed with Haaland. The second person affected was the goalkeeper."
He continued: "It's so clear and simple, yet somehow they didn't notice the impact Enzo Fernández had on the players around him."
Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville said on Sky Sports: "I think we'll see some kind of apology from the referees' body. There's no doubt Fernández is trying to play the ball and trying to affect Martínez. I think this is one of those cases they'll admit they got wrong."
Former Manchester City player Micah Richards added: "I think it was a bad day for the referees. They got the Foden decision wrong, and they got the Fernández decision wrong. I think they made major errors, but I don't think that takes away from Manchester City's performance."
City manager Mariska said: "I think he was clearly in an onside position, so that's good."
Further Controversy Over Foden's Red Card
Haaland's goal wasn't the only controversial incident in the match, as the first half saw Foden sent off directly for his assault on Bruno Fernandes.
The City midfielder gained possession of the ball on the right side inside his own half, before Fernandes closed in on him and brought him down.
After falling to the ground, Foden kicked the Portuguese midfielder's body, prompting the referee to show him a direct red card.
But replays showed that Fernandes had kicked Foden in the back first, before the English international retaliated.
The VAR reviewed the incident and upheld the referee's decision to send off Foden, while Fernandes received no card at all.
Analysts were divided over whether Foden deserved the red card, and whether Fernandes bore primary responsibility for the incident.
Rooney did not believe what happened warranted a sending-off, saying: "It was more like a nudge or gesture with the foot than an assault kick."
Neville said he was "surprised" that Fernandes did not receive a yellow card for his role in the incident, while Roy Keane felt the primary fault lay with the Portuguese player, saying: "Foden gets up and reacts, of course, and that's why he gets sent off. Fernandes clashes into him and gives him a little kick. I think they classified what Foden did as violent conduct, but Fernandes was the violent one here. I don't think Foden deserved the red card."
Dale Johnson, BBC Sport's refereeing correspondent, explained: "The referee and VAR should have considered what Fernandes did as violent conduct, not just an angry reaction."
He added: "The guidelines were changed several years ago to take that into account, which is why David Beckham's kick on Diego Simeone at the 1998 World Cup wouldn't result in a red card today."
He continued: "To me, Fernandes's contact appeared to be very slight or non-existent, and if it did happen, it was with limited force and wasn't followed by a full kicking motion."
He concluded: "So Bruno's action would be considered a yellow-card offense, and it's a case VAR cannot intervene in."
Resource: Al-Ghad.
