Pro Ref admits error on Haaland derby winner — SkimNews
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- Pro Ref admitted an "error of judgement" after VAR awarded Erling Haaland's 60th-minute winner in the Manchester derby and contacted Manchester United the same evening to acknowledge the mistake, with a review of the incident to follow
- Erling Haaland was initially flagged offside before VAR ruled him onside via a deflection off Patrick Dorgu's boot, but Enzo Fernandez—who dived at the ball in the six-yard box without touching it—committed a subjective offside offence by impacting defender Lisandro Martinez's positioning
- Phil Foden was sent off in the 23rd minute with a straight red card for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes after Fernandes tripped him, with replays showing Fernandes kicked Foden first; VAR confirmed the dismissal and Fernandes was not booked
- Pundits including Wayne Rooney, Roy Keane and Gary Neville split on both decisions, with Keane insisting "Fernandes is the one who is violent" and Rooney calling Foden's kick "more of a flick or a gesture" rather than a sending-off offence
- Michael Carrick called the explanation "staggering" and said "it's had a major impact on the game," while Lisandro Martinez said "we have to go home with this injustice" after losing the home derby
- BBC Sport's Dale Johnson flagged a parallel to February 2023 when Christian Norgaard's offside goal for Brentford against Arsenal was similarly not disallowed, noting both are "clear offside offences" the VAR failed to identify
Why it matters: Manchester United lost a home Premier League derby on a goal Pro Ref now concedes should likely have been ruled out, costing them league points on a refereeing call the governing body itself has now branded an 'error of judgement'. The admission underscores persistent VAR inconsistency—two nearly identical subjective offside incidents (Fernandez on Saturday, Norgaard vs Arsenal in February 2023) have now produced controversial goals that survived review, intensifying pressure on officiating standards in the Premier League.
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