Wayne Rooney Slams VAR Over Haaland’s Manchester Derby Winner

Wayne Rooney has described the VAR decision to allow Erling Haaland’s decisive goal in the Manchester derby as “baffling”, after Pro Ref accepted that the review process failed to address a potential offside interference by Enzo Fernández.

Haaland goal overturned the on-field call

Manchester City’s winner came after Haaland’s effort was initially ruled out by the match officials. Video assistant referee Matt Donohue subsequently changed the decision, judging that Haaland had been in an onside position.

The review also concluded that Fernández, who was standing offside as he attempted to head the ball, had not touched it. That assessment allowed the goal to stand and settled the derby in City’s favour.

The central dispute was not whether Fernández made contact, but whether his attempt to play the ball affected Manchester United defenders and goalkeeper Senne Lammens. Lisandro Martínez was also considered to have been influenced by Fernández’s movement in the penalty area.

Pro Ref accepts review error

Pro Ref later acknowledged an error of judgement in the handling of the incident. It accepted that referee Michael Oliver should have been sent to the pitchside monitor to examine whether Fernández had interfered with play from an offside position.

• Haaland’s goal was initially disallowed on the field.
• VAR Matt Donohue overturned that decision after finding Haaland onside.
• Fernández was judged not to have headed the ball.
• Pro Ref accepted that the possible impact of Fernández’s attempted header required an on-field review.
• Manchester United have been contacted over the episode.

Rooney and Bothroyd criticise VAR process

Rooney, the former Manchester United forward, said VAR had damaged the emotion and intensity of matches. He argued that players at any level would recognise Fernández’s offside position and his involvement in the phase of play.

In Rooney’s view, the officials reached an inexplicable conclusion by focusing on the absence of contact rather than the influence Fernández may have had on the defending players and goalkeeper.

Jay Bothroyd also said the officials should face consequences for the mistake. The former Coventry City and Cardiff City striker called for former players to have a role in VAR decisions, arguing that the view within the game would be clear: Fernández was interfering with play.

Bothroyd added that an apology was insufficient when a major decision could have wider consequences for Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick, who is already under pressure and could be affected by damaging results.

Gallagher says officials lost sight of the key issue

Former referee Dermot Gallagher said disciplinary matters for officials were handled internally, while stressing that referees were often their own harshest critics after mistakes.

Gallagher said the incident could not be reversed, leaving officials to learn from it in future. His assessment was that the review team became fixed on one part of the law — whether Fernández touched the ball — and in doing so overlooked the more important question of interference.