It only took four days for the first refereeing scandal of the season to break out. The English football arbitration body, Pro Ref, recognized a VAR error during the derby won by Manchester City against Manchester United (0-1). If Erling Haaland’s position on the only goal of the match was indeed legal, the body indicates that the achievement should have been canceled for an offside by Enzo Fernandez. Although the latter did not touch the ball, his attempted header disrupted the action, which should have prompted the video referee to request viewing at the side of the field.
The referee was wrong about Enzo Fernandez
A decision which provoked anger on the Manchester United side. “To be so wrong is simply astounding”notably released Wayne Rooney, who said he was “so tired” of VAR. Same observation with Lisandro Martinez, directly involved in the action. “He was there, in front of me, and I went towards him. That’s why Haaland was free behind.”explained the Argentine defender, denouncing a “injustice”. Pro Ref finally apologized to the Red Devils and announced that a new review of the incident would be carried out.
But behind the scenes of this decision raises even more questions. According to The AthleticVAR referee Matt Donohue focused on the wrong question regarding Enzo Fernández. The semi-automatic offside confirmed the Norwegian’s legal position, while no contact from Fernandez with the ball was detected. The problem is that the VAR then did not sufficiently study the positioning of the City midfielder on Martinez and goalkeeper Senne Lammens.
Three levels of control that failed
Especially since a Premier League assistant referee was alongside Donohue at Stockley Park with, among other things, the task of challenging him if the wrong procedure was followed. Further away, an operations room also allows Pro Ref managers and members of the VAR Hub to follow the matches live. Special feature this Sunday: there was only one Premier League match to watch at that time. These managers even have a direct line with the VAR in order to intervene when a decision seems clearly incorrect or an essential element has not been taken into consideration.
Despite all this system and three levels of control, no one has been able to rectify the error. A huge hiccup which inevitably revives criticism of the use of video assistance in England. The controversy is all the more important as the expulsion of Phil Foden at the start of the match had already sparked numerous reactions. For Manchester United, the feeling of injustice remains immense: semi-automatic technology, several officials and different levels of supervision were ultimately not enough to prevent a decisive error in the Mancunian derby. “If it’s now this interpretation of not interfering with the game, then that’s really worrying to me. It’s a stunning explanation.”explained Carrick after the match.
