VAR Error in Manchester Derby: Howard Webb's Admission
Howard Webb has admitted VAR made a fundamental mistake in the Manchester derby – and never even checked whether Enzo Fernandez was offside before Erling Haaland’s controversial winner was allowed to stand.
Speaking on the first episode of this season’s ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’, the Pro Ref chief refereeing officer said he was “really disappointed” by the failure of VAR Matt Donohue and assistant Blake Antrobus to spot the offence.
Haaland thought he had settled a tense derby at Old Trafford on 60 minutes, only for the flag to go up. On the pitch, the goal was ruled out for offside.
In Stockley Park, the story changed.
Semi-automated offside technology showed Haaland was three centimetres onside from Josko Gvardiol’s cross. The VAR check confirmed it, the on-field decision was overturned, and the goal stood.
Then the replays rolled. And the real problem emerged.
Fernandez, in a central position, dived towards the ball and clearly drew defenders, interfering with opponents from an offside position. That offence went completely unpunished because, as Webb revealed, the VAR team never considered it.
“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.”
Supporters immediately asked the obvious question: how could a full VAR team watch those angles and still conclude Fernandez had not committed an offside offence?
The defensive shape tells the story.
Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez initially tracked Haaland. As Gvardiol’s cross came in, Martinez shifted towards Fernandez, trying to cut out the ball aimed at the offside attacker. That movement left Haaland completely free at the back post to score.
On Match of the Day, former England striker Wayne Rooney summed up the sense of disbelief. He said that “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.”
The Mic’d Up audio underlined just how the mistake happened. At no stage did Donohue or Antrobus raise the possibility that Fernandez himself might be offside. Their entire focus narrowed onto Haaland’s position and whether Fernandez had touched the ball.
“The VAR gets super-focused on Haaland,” Webb explained, having already contacted Manchester United to share the VAR audio and video. “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 officials checked whether Fernandez had made contact, which would have reset the phase and created a new offside situation involving Haaland. They never properly assessed the more basic question: was Fernandez, from an offside position, interfering with play and opponents?
“What looks like a really clear subjective offside, because Fernandez doesn't touch the ball but still clearly impacts [the play but] doesn't get identified, and it's really disappointing,” Webb 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.”
The derby will stay decided by that goal. The fallout, and the scrutiny on VAR, will linger far longer.
