Premier League referees’ chief Howard Webb has admitted that Manchester City’s goal against Manchester United should not have stood after VAR officials failed to properly identify an offside offence involving Enzo Fernandez.

Erling Haaland scored for Manchester City after connecting with Josko Gvardiol’s cross, but Fernandez was positioned offside and close to Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez and goalkeeper Senne Lammens.

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Although semi-automated offside technology determined that Haaland was three centimetres onside, the VAR review did not sufficiently consider whether Fernandez’s position and movement interfered with the play.

Webb said VAR officials Alex Donohue and Richard Antrobus became too focused on determining Haaland’s position and consequently failed to assess the wider offside situation.

According to Webb, once the VAR officials established that Haaland was onside, their attention became concentrated on that particular aspect of the incident.

“The VAR gets super-focused on Haaland,” Webb explained. “He establishes he’s onside, he thinks that’s a good goal.”

Howard Webb Explains VAR Error

Webb acknowledged that the officials should have considered Fernandez’s position and whether his presence affected Manchester United’s ability to defend the cross.

He described the incident as a clear example of how VAR officials can become narrowly focused on one part of a review and fail to identify another important element of the incident.

“What looks like a really clear subjective offside, because Fernandez doesn’t touch the ball but still clearly impacts the play, doesn’t get identified, and it’s really disappointing,” Webb said.

The referees’ chief ultimately accepted that the goal should have been ruled out.

“This goal should’ve been disallowed. And unfortunately, it wasn’t, and we’ll review it, reflect upon it, and try to take the learning forward to prevent this unusual type of error from happening again,” he said.

The admission highlights the importance of considering the full context of an offside incident rather than focusing exclusively on whether the player who scores the goal is in an onside position.

Under the laws of the game, a player can be penalised for an offside offence even without touching the ball if their position or actions interfere with an opponent or affect the ability to play the ball.

Webb Defends Foden Red Card

Webb also addressed another controversial moment from the Manchester derby involving Manchester City forward Phil Foden and Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes.

Foden was sent off after kicking out at Fernandes, with Webb supporting the decision to issue a red card.

The referees’ chief distinguished the incident from an earlier confrontation in which Fernandes kicked Foden in the backside.

According to Webb, Fernandes’ action was “more petulant than violent” and should have resulted in a yellow card rather than a dismissal.

“I agree with the red card for Phil Foden,” Webb said. “He kicks out with force into the upper body of Bruno Fernandes.”

Webb explained that violent conduct requires a player to use excessive force or demonstrate brutality. In his assessment, Fernandes’ earlier action did not reach that threshold.

He further stated that Fernandes would have received a yellow card if the incident involving Foden had gone through a VAR review at the pitchside monitor.

The separate decisions have therefore produced two different assessments from the refereeing chief: Webb accepted that Manchester City’s goal should have been disallowed because Fernandez’s offside position was overlooked, while he maintained that Foden’s dismissal was correct.

The comments are likely to renew discussion about the role of VAR and the challenges officials face when assessing incidents involving several players and different elements of the laws of the game.