Manchester United have been contacted by refereeing panel ProRef to admit they erred in awarding the goal scored by Erling Haaland that condemned them to defeat in the derby.
Manchester City won the three points at Old Trafford despite Phil Foden being sent off after kicking Bruno Fernandes in the stomach in the 23rd minute.
The decisive moment came on the hour mark when Haaland headed the ball into the top left corner from Josko Gvardiol’s deflected cross from the left wing.
Haaland was initially flagged for offside, but after a prolonged VAR check, the goal was controversially awarded.
City’s Norwegian talisman has been ruled to be played out by Patrik Dorjo, but the most controversial aspect of the decision concerns the inclusion of Enzo Fernandes.
Fernandes was standing in an offside position when the cross was played and attempted to get his head on the ball. However, because he failed to do so, Fernandes was deemed not to be interfering in play.
ProRef admits Haaland’s mistake in the goal
With Fernandes attracting the attention of Lisandro Martinez, thus leaving Haaland unmarked, this appeared to be a questionable interpretation at best of the rules, one that left United manager Michael Carrick “perplexed”.
And in A A statement was issued late Sundaya ProRef spokesperson acknowledged an error on the part of officials.
The statement read: “After the incident that occurred in the 60th minute of Sunday’s Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford, we can provide clarification regarding Erling Haaland’s awarded goal.
“The on-field decision was offside against Erling Haaland – this was checked by VAR and found to be in an offside position.
“In the same attack, it was established that Enzo Fernandes did not play the ball and therefore any offside offense is considered subjective, however, on this occasion, the VAR did not recognize the potential impact of his position and should have recommended an on-pitch review.
“Manchester United have been contacted this evening to acknowledge what we consider to be an error in judgement. The incident will be reviewed.”
How did the managers react?
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Carrick said of the decision: “I’m at a loss. We’ve got things in place in the game now. We’ve got people in the offices with all the monitors for this decision.
“It’s even more worrying if that’s the interpretation of football now. If that’s the interpretation of not intervening in the game now, that’s really worrying to me. It’s an astonishing interpretation.”
“The decision will not change the season, but it had a big impact on the game. This decision was not on us today. It is up to us to create chances and score after that. We had moments. Of course it is up to us to do that, but big moments in games like this have a big impact.”
It was not surprising that his counterpart at City, Enzo Maresca, had a different view.
“It was quite clear that the goal was not offside,” Maresca told Sky Sports. “The moment the fourth official told me, I celebrated early, because I knew.”
