Howard Webb Addresses Major VAR Error in Manchester Derby
Howard Webb has admitted VAR made a major mistake in the Manchester derby – and that Enzo Fernandez’s offside position before Erling Haaland’s winner was never even checked.
Speaking on the first edition of this season’s Match Officials Mic’d Up, the head of the Premier League’s refereeing body Pro Ref said he was “really disappointed” with the performance of VAR Matt Donohue and assistant Blake Antrobus at Old Trafford.
Haaland thought he had settled a tight, tense derby on the hour mark, sweeping in at the back post from Josko Gvardiol’s cross. The assistant’s flag went up for offside. On-field, the goal was ruled out.
Then came the familiar pause.
Semi-automated offside technology showed Haaland was three centimetres onside. The decision was overturned and the goal stood.
Within seconds, the controversy began.
Replays showed Fernandez had dived at the ball in a central area, clearly between the cross and the defenders, and appeared to affect how Manchester United’s back line reacted. Lisandro Martinez, initially tight to Haaland, stepped across towards Fernandez, leaving the City striker free at the far post to score.
Yet in the VAR booth, that key detail simply never entered the conversation.
“I was really disappointed with this outcome. We all are,” Webb said. “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.”
The Mic’d Up audio laid bare how the error unfolded. Donohue and Antrobus locked onto one question only: was Haaland onside from Gvardiol’s delivery?
The technology answered that. It was tight, but onside.
From there, the officials only checked whether Fernandez had touched the ball, which could have created a new offside phase involving Haaland. They never moved on to the wider, and crucial, issue – whether Fernandez’s offside position and movement interfered with opponents.
“The VAR gets super-focused on Haaland,” Webb explained. “He establishes he's onside, he thinks that's a good goal.
“He doesn't truly evaluate the full impact of Fernandez's position. He has a look to see if he touches the ball, because then that relates to potentially knocking it to Haaland, who goes on to score.
“In that moment, he gets tunnel vision. It's down to the rest of his team to pull him out of that tunnel, and unfortunately, that didn't happen on this occasion.”
The fallout has been fierce. Supporters have questioned how a professional VAR team could ignore such a central part of the offside law in a game of this magnitude.
On Match of the Day, former England striker and BBC Sport pundit Wayne Rooney did not hold back. “To not see that and recognise that Enzo Fernandez was in an offside position... anyone who has played the game at any level understands that and to get it so wrong is baffling,” he said.
Webb, who has already shared the audio and video with Manchester United, did not try to soften the verdict.
“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,” he admitted. “This goal should've been disallowed. And highly unfortunately, it wasn't.
“We'll review it, reflect upon it, and try to take the learning forward to prevent this unusual type of error from happening again.”
For the officials involved, the punishment is immediate. For the title race, and for trust in VAR, the consequences may linger far longer.
