Referees' chief Howard Webb has admitted that the video assistant referee (VAR) failed to assess the offside offence by Enzo Fernandez for the winning goal in Sunday's Manchester derby. Speaking on the first edition of 'Match Officials Mic'd Up' of the season, Webb said he was "really disappointed" with the error made by the VAR Matt Donohue and his assistant Blake Antrobus. Manchester City striker Erling Haaland thought he had scored the only goal of the game at Old Trafford in the 60th minute, but it was disallowed on the field for offside.
A VAR review found Haaland was just onside, and the goal was awarded. But it immediately became apparent that the video officials had made an error in failing to identify an offside offence by Fernandez, diving at the ball in a central position and interfering with opponents. "I was really disappointed with this outcome.
We all are," said Webb, Premier League refereeing body Pro Ref's chief refereeing officer. "None more so than the officials themselves. They take a lot of personal pride in what they do and they're obviously hurting now, having fallen short in this situation.
"They'll not be officiating again until after the international break." 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. Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez was in close proximity, while goalkeeper Sanne Lammens was positioned for Fernandez to play the ball. The Mic'd Up audio provided a clear answer.
At no stage did Donohue or Antrobus consider it because, as Webb describes, they got "tunnel vision" over Haaland. The semi-automated offside technology told the VAR that Haaland was three centimetres onside from Josko Gvardiol's cross. But the video officials then only checked for a touch by Fernandez which would have created a new offside phase against the Norway international.
"The VAR gets super-focused on Haaland," said Webb, who had already been in contact with Manchester United to share the VAR audio and video. "He establishes he's onside, he thinks that's a good goal. "He doesn't truly evaluate the full impact of Fernandez's position.
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