Pro Ref has acknowledged that the decision to allow Erling Haaland’s winning goal for Manchester City against Manchester United was a mistake in judgement.
City secured a dramatic derby triumph, but the result was overshadowed by controversy over whether Haaland’s decisive strike at Old Trafford should have counted.
The Norway international found the net in the 60th minute, meeting Josko Gvardiol’s delivery at the far post. The assistant referee initially ruled the effort out for offside.
After a VAR review, however, the decision was overturned because Patrick Dorgu’s boot was judged to have kept Haaland onside.
Questions remained over the involvement of Enzo Fernandez, who was in an offside position closer to the centre of the pitch and appeared to dive towards the ball.
Pro Ref said in a statement that Fernandez had not made contact with the ball, meaning the assessment of whether he had interfered with play was a matter of judgement.
It added that the VAR had failed to appreciate the probable effect of Fernandez’s position and should therefore have sent the referee to the pitchside monitor for a review.
The organisation also confirmed that it had spoken to Manchester United that evening to accept responsibility for what it regarded as a judgement error, with the incident now set to undergo a full review.
United centre-back Lisandro Martinez described the outcome as an “injustice”, while manager Michael Carrick said he was “confused” by the ruling.
Haaland’s goal came after City had been reduced to 10 players during the opening half, when Phil Foden received a straight red card for lashing out at United captain Bruno Fernandes.
Referee Michael Oliver sent Foden off in the 23rd minute after the City player kicked Fernandes in the midriff as the United midfielder lay on the ground.
