Putri Anggraini
The fallout from the Premier League's first Manchester derby of the season intensified after the refereeing authority conceded that video officials made a major mistake in allowing Erling Haaland's decisive goal for Manchester City against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The controversial incident occurred during the second half of Sunday's high-stakes clash, in which a ten-man City side secured a crucial victory. Striker Haaland found the net in the 60th minute, arriving at the back post to convert a cross delivered by Josko Gvardiol, ultimately securing three vital points and local bragging rights for the reigning champions.
The goal was initially chalked off when the on-field assistant referee raised the flag for offside against Haaland. However, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervened and overturned the decision on review, a verdict that immediately triggered widespread protest from the home side and drastically altered the outcome of the match.
Replays of the attacking move showed that while Haaland was kept onside by the trailing boot of United defender Patrick Dorgu, his City teammate Enzo Fernandez had lunged forward to attempt a header from an offside position. Although Fernandez failed to make contact with the ball, his diving action took place directly in the path of the play prior to Haaland's finish.
Shortly after the goal was awarded, the Premier League Match Centre released a public clarification on social media platform X. The explanation noted that the VAR had established Haaland was onside and concluded that Fernandez had not physically played the ball despite being positioned in an offside location.
That justification quickly unraveled later in the day when the official refereeing body, Professional Game Referees (Pro Ref), released a statement admitting that allowing the strike to stand was an "error of judgment." The organization confirmed that the video review team had failed to account for the impact of Fernandez's attempt to play the ball.
According to Pro Ref's formal statement, the on-field offside call against Haaland was properly overturned because the striker was in a legal position. However, the body stressed that because Fernandez attempted to head the ball from an offside position, the situation required a subjective assessment, and the VAR should have instructed the referee to conduct an on-field review via the pitchside monitor.
Pro Ref also confirmed that contact had been made with Manchester United on Sunday evening to formally acknowledge the misjudgment, adding that a comprehensive internal review of the incident will be conducted.
The admission provided no comfort to Manchester United's players, staff, and supporters, who felt unjustly penalized in one of the most prestigious fixtures in club football. The post-match atmosphere in the red half of Manchester was defined by deep frustration over the officiating outcome.
Prominent figures within the football community quickly voiced their displeasure regarding the decision. Former Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney, alongside other current and former players, criticized the officiating process and described the application of the technology as "horrendous."
Football analysts and experts also expressed alarm at the growing influence of the video review system, telling Al Jazeera that the technology has become "far too dominant" during critical match situations. Critics argue that instead of serving as an unobtrusive safety net, video reviews are increasingly overshadowing on-pitch officiating and generating confusion over subjective decisions.
The controversy comes at an early juncture in the 2026-27 Premier League campaign, which has barely completed its opening month of competition. Rather than celebrated attacking moves or decisive defensive plays dominating discussions, refereeing debates have once again seized the central narrative of the English top flight.
Introduced globally by FIFA, VAR was established as a support tool aimed at checking, reviewing, and rectifying clear and obvious errors in competitive fixtures. Since its inception, the system has been adopted across more than 300 football competitions worldwide.
The standard operational procedure involves a specialized team of video match officials who review footage from various camera angles in a centralized control room, communicating with the on-field referee through a dedicated audio system before conclusions are reached.
First implemented during the 2018-19 season, the review protocol is specifically limited to four match-defining categories: goals and offenses leading up to goals, penalty awards, direct red card incidents, and cases of mistaken identity.
Despite the original intent to combine human expertise with technological precision, the Manchester derby has renewed debates surrounding the limitations of the system, particularly when subjective offside interference must be judged.
With the debate showing no signs of abating, managers, players, and supporters across the sport continue to demand greater accountability from match officials and a reassessment of football's growing reliance on technology during pivotal moments.
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