VAR Error in Manchester Derby: Howard Webb's Admission
Howard Webb has admitted VAR made a major mistake in Sunday’s Manchester derby – and says the officials involved will not take charge of another game until after the international break.
Speaking on the first ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’ of the season, the Premier League’s chief refereeing officer confirmed that the video officials did not even consider whether Enzo Fernandez was offside in the build-up to Erling Haaland’s controversial winner at Old Trafford.
VAR locked on Haaland – and missed Fernandez
Haaland thought he had settled the derby on the hour, tucking in at the back post from Josko Gvardiol’s cross. The assistant’s flag went up, the goal was ruled out on the field, and the usual pause began.
Semi-automated offside technology quickly showed Haaland was onside by three centimetres. VAR Matt Donohue and assistant Blake Antrobus advised the goal should stand. It did.
Then the replays rolled. And the real problem came into focus.
Fernandez, in a central position and clearly involved in the move, had dived at the ball from an offside position, drawing defenders and interfering with opponents. Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez, initially tracking Haaland, shifted across to deal with Fernandez, leaving the City striker unmarked at the far post.
That offside offence was never checked.
“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.”
‘Tunnel vision’ in the VAR room
The audio from the VAR hub, released on Mic’d Up, laid bare the nature of the error. At no point did Donohue or Antrobus discuss whether Fernandez was offside. Their entire conversation revolved around Haaland’s position and whether Fernandez had touched the ball.
“The VAR gets super-focused on Haaland,” Webb explained. “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 result, Webb said, was that “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.
“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.”
‘Baffling’ to those who’ve played the game
The decision stunned players and pundits alike. On Match of the Day, former England striker Wayne Rooney voiced what many inside Old Trafford and watching at home were thinking.
“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,” he said.
Webb revealed he had already been in contact with Manchester United to share the VAR audio and video, a move aimed at providing transparency but also underlining just how stark the oversight was.
The technology got the centimetres on Haaland right. The humans never asked the bigger question about Fernandez. In a title race and a season where every point will be argued over, that distinction could linger far longer than a single derby day.
