Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) acknowledged a “judgment error” regarding the decision to award Erling Haaland’s winning goal for Manchester City in their 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The goal arrived in the 60th minute of the Manchester derby with City down to ten men following Phil Foden’s 23rd-minute red card, making the refereeing call the main talking point after the final whistle.
The refereeing body explained that the initial on-field decision was offside against Haaland before the Video Assistant Referee reviewed the incident and confirmed the Norwegian striker was in an onside position, kept marginally played on by Patrick Dorgu.
However, the controversy centered not on Haaland’s position, but on Enzo Fernández, who was clearly in an offside position when the ball was delivered and attempted to head it before it reached his teammate to score.
Where the Video Assistant Referee Erred
Fernández did not touch the ball, but his movement and attempt to meet the cross impacted Lisandro Martínez, who was forced to track him instead of moving directly toward Haaland—an influence the VAR failed to assess correctly.
PGMOL confirmed that while Fernández’s lack of touch made the incident a subjective judgment call, the VAR was expected to identify the potential impact of the player’s positioning and recommend an on-field review via the monitor.
Under Law 11 of the Laws of the Game, a player in an offside position can be penalized for clearly attempting to play a challenging ball close to them when this action impacts an opponent’s ability to play the ball, regardless of whether physical contact is made.
The refereeing body directly notified Manchester United of the acknowledged error while confirming an internal review of the incident. The match result will remain unchanged, with no official sanctions announced against the match officials to date.
Haaland increased his tally to nine goals in eight Premier League appearances against United, becoming the all-time leading scorer in Manchester derby history in the competition.
