Professional Game Match Officials Limited chief Howard Webb has expressed deep frustration following a significant oversight during Manchester City’s 1-0 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Webb acknowledged that video assistant referee (VAR) Matt Donohue and assistant Blake Antrobus failed to evaluate whether Enzo Fernandez committed an offside offence during the build-up to Erling Haaland’s 60th-minute goal.
Speaking on the season premiere of ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’, Webb admitted that the officiating team suffered from ‘tunnel vision,’ focusing exclusively on determining whether Haaland himself was in an onside position. While semi-automated technology correctly identified that Haaland was three centimetres onside when Josko Gvardiol delivered the cross, the VAR failed to consider the wider attacking phase or Fernandez’s role in interfering with opponents.
The VAR Transcript Highlights
- Initial Check: The VAR focuses on Haaland’s position relative to the last defender.
- Technological Input: Semi-automated offside technology confirms Haaland is three centimetres onside.
- Scope Error: Officials confirm Haaland is onside but fail to assess Fernandez’s interference in the play.
- Sequence Oversight: The team only searches for a potential touch by Fernandez to trigger a new offside phase, rather than checking if his initial positioning constituted an offence.
- Final Ruling: The VAR confirms the goal to referee Michael Oliver, stating the check is complete.
Webb confirmed that Donohue and Antrobus will not officiate matches again until after the upcoming international break. Expressing his disappointment, Webb stated that the officials take great pride in their work and were as disheartened by the error as the league leadership. He noted that the organization intends to reflect on the incident and implement changes to prevent such oversights in the future.
Former England international and pundit Wayne Rooney heavily criticized the decision on ‘Match of the Day’, describing the failure to recognize Fernandez’s offside position as ‘baffling.’ Rooney argued that the error was immediately apparent to anyone with experience playing the game at any level.
The controversy extended to the 23rd minute when Phil Foden received a red card for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes. Webb defended the dismissal of Foden, citing the force used in the challenge against the midfielder’s upper body. However, he clarified that Bruno Fernandes’ reaction did not meet the criteria for violent conduct. Webb suggested that had the match official not sent Foden off in real-time, the VAR would have likely flagged both Foden’s red-card offence and the yellow-card offence committed by Fernandes during a pitchside review, similar to the process recently seen in an Aston Villa match. The report also notes that we all are,” said Webb, Premier League refereeing body Pro Ref’s chief refereeing officer. The report also notes that none more so than the officials themselves. The report also notes that having fallen short in this situation, they take a lot of personal pride in what they do and they’re obviously hurting now. The report also notes that one of the questions which many supporters have asked is how the VAR team could possibly reach the conclusion that Fernandez did not commit an offside offence. The report also notes that but then moved over to try and intercept the ball from Fernandez, manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez initially appeared to be marking Haaland. The report also notes that this left Haaland free at the back post to finish. The report also notes that comments made by the technical replay operator have been omitted.
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