Pro Ref Admits Mistake in Haaland's Derby Winner

The decisive moment in the Manchester derby has been branded a mistake by the refereeing body Pro Ref, which has admitted Erling Haaland’s winner at Old Trafford should not have been allowed to stand.

Hours after Manchester City’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United, Pro Ref contacted United and released a statement acknowledging an “error of judgment”, confirming that VAR should have sent referee on the pitch to the monitor for an on-field review.

On the pitch, the assistant’s flag initially ruled Haaland offside. VAR intervened, checked the lines, and overturned the decision, judging the City striker to have been played onside by United defender Patrick Dorgu.

That was only half the story.

In the same move, Enzo Fernandez stood in an offside position as he stretched to play the ball before it ran through to Haaland at the back post. He never made contact, but his movement dragged Lisandro Martinez towards him and appeared to affect the United defender’s ability to deal with the cross. Under the laws of the game, that kind of involvement can still constitute offside.

This is where Pro Ref now says the officials failed.

Pro Ref: VAR missed Fernandez’s impact

In a detailed explanation, Pro Ref set out where the process broke down.

“Following the incident in the 60th minute of Sunday’s Premier League fixture between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford, we can provide clarification regarding Erling Haaland’s awarded goal,” a spokesperson said.

“The on-field decision was offside against Erling Haaland – that was checked by VAR and he was found to be in an onside position.

“In the same attack, it was established that Enzo Fernandez did not play the ball and therefore that makes any offside offence subjective, however, on this occasion, the VAR did not recognise the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review.

“Contact has been made with Manchester United this evening to acknowledge what we deem is an error of judgement. A review of the incident will take place.”

The Premier League Match Centre had earlier tried to clarify why the goal stood, posting on X that “VAR checked the referee’s call of no goal for offside – and determined that Haaland was in an onside position and recommended that the goal was awarded. The VAR also deemed that while in an offside position, Fernandez didn't play the ball.”

The focus, again, sat on Fernandez not touching the ball. Replays during the VAR check showed officials trying to work out whether the midfielder had made contact.

But the offside law is clear: a player can be offside without touching the ball if he interferes with an opponent. That includes clearly attempting to play a nearby ball when that action impacts an opponent, or making an obvious movement that clearly affects an opponent’s ability to play it. Pro Ref now accepts that this aspect was not properly considered.

Neville: ‘They’ll recognise they got that wrong’

Gary Neville did not wait for the statement. On co-commentary for Sky Sports, he immediately argued that the VAR team had made the wrong call in allowing Haaland’s effort.

He went further on air, predicting an admission from the officials’ body. “We will see an apology from Pro Ref,” the former United defender told Sky Sports. “There is no doubt that Enzo is attempting to play the ball and putting Lisandro Martinez off. It's a really strange one. They'll recognise they got that wrong.”

Speaking later on his podcast, Neville accused the authorities of ignoring the wording of the law. “I think they are ignoring the rule,” he said, adding that the Match Centre’s initial explanation was “digging themselves a bigger hole” and insisting: “They will have to retract that.”

The Pro Ref statement fell short of a formal apology, but it did confirm what Neville had argued in real time: the goal should have faced a pitchside review and, by implication, would likely have been ruled out.

Martinez: ‘We go home with this injustice’

Inside the United camp, frustration ran deep.

Lisandro Martinez, the defender closest to the incident, was blunt in his post-match interview with Sky Sports.

“Every season the officials come to our club and spend an hour explaining the rules and they look so confident with that,” he said. “Then after, five or six people [officials] doing this kind of mistake in the Premier League is unacceptable. We have to go home with this injustice.”

From a defender’s perspective, the complaint is simple: if Fernandez is offside and moving towards the ball, the back line has done its job. United held their line, stepped up, and were punished when the law, as they understand it, was not applied.

Richards and Keane slam decision

The criticism did not stop with Neville.

Micah Richards called the decision to award the goal “a nonsense” and dismissed the Match Centre’s focus on Fernandez failing to touch the ball.

Asked on Sky Sports whether Fernandez was clearly attempting to play the ball, Richards said: “One hundred per cent he is. I think it's been a bad day for referees and VAR. They got the Phil Foden decision wrong, and they got this decision wrong.

“How you can not say Enzo Fernandez is challenging for the ball – of course he is! I've been in that position as a defender where any slight movement can make the difference for going for the ball or not, so of course it affects him. I just think they've got it so wrong.”

Roy Keane went straight to the heart of the offside argument.

“Fernandez is interfering with play,” he said. “Basically, United have been punished for holding a good line. When you are in that position, you are impacting the game. You're in the middle of the box, you're going for the ball.

Their line is good. Fernandez is offside, and he goes to play the ball, so United are getting punished for good defending.”

The derby will stay in the record books as a 1-0 City win. The goal stands. But after this admission from Pro Ref, the debate around how VAR interprets offside – and how often defenders are punished for doing exactly what they are coached to do – is only going to grow louder.