Carrick Says VAR Apology Cannot Undo Manchester United Derby Damage

Manchester United have received a formal apology after a VAR failure allowed Manchester City’s 1-0 derby win at Old Trafford to stand, but Michael Carrick says the admission cannot undo the damage caused by the decision.

Erling Haaland scored the match’s only goal, with City’s record signing Fernandez positioned offside and judged to have interfered with play. The VAR team did not identify the infringement, meaning the goal was not reviewed out of the game.

Quick facts

• Manchester City won 1-0 at Old Trafford through Haaland’s goal.
• Fernandez was offside in the build-up and involved in play.
• Pro Ref apologised to Manchester United within three hours of full-time.
• VAR Matt Donohue and assistant VAR Blake Antrobus have been removed from the following weekend’s appointments.
• United travel to Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday.

Howard Webb contacted United after the match and addressed the error on Match Officials Mic’d Up. The refereeing chief said the video officials concentrated solely on whether Haaland was offside and failed to assess Fernandez’s position.

Carrick accepted that officials had acknowledged their mistake, but said an apology carried little practical value after such a decisive incident. “They have held their hands up and said they got it wrong, and that can happen,” he said. “But we have to live with it.”

The United manager felt the scale of the error made it particularly difficult to accept. He said favourable calls may arrive over a season, but this one had a major bearing on the derby itself.

Despite the anger around the incident, Carrick did not call for VAR to be abandoned. He described it as an isolated failure and said he still had belief in the system United and the rest of the league operate under.

The City defeat has added to a difficult recent run for United. They threw away a two-goal lead in a home loss to Brighton, their first defeat from that position for 50 years, after previously drawing 2-2 with Everton despite being pegged back twice.

Carrick rejected the suggestion that those results alone prove his side have a longstanding problem in front of goal or in seeing out matches. He said recent events can quickly create a damaging narrative, while his task is to identify what needs correcting as the team progresses.

United now face an immediate test at Fulham on Sunday. Carrick said the VAR mistake had been significant in the moment, but insisted his players must not allow it to affect the remainder of their campaign.

“It is down to us to return to winning as quickly as possible,” he said.