Haaland's winning goal in the Manchester derby triggered a sensational refereeing controversy, reigniting calls to abolish VAR. Jason Burt, a journalist at The Daily Telegraph, wrote that the problem is not VAR itself, but rather how it is implemented from start to finish. The Premier League claims to be the best league in the world, yet such embarrassing refereeing incidents occur so frequently, while such flagrant elementary errors are rarely seen in European competitions. Webb must take control of the situation and use this incident to reassess whether certain referees are truly fit for the job.

Ultimately, without VAR, the correct decision had already been made – the assistant referee had flagged an offside. We would also have been spared this endless review, which inexplicably overturned the correct decision.

The initial offside call was against Haaland, but it was actually his teammate Enzo who was in an offside position. However, the assistant referee's decision at that moment was correct.

Abolishing VAR is the simplest solution. The English Football League (EFL) has cleverly taken this stance, claiming its league does not need VAR and that the Premier League can keep the system to itself. To be honest, it is more about cost considerations, but for the EFL, it is a popular public relations decision to present itself as a purer, fan-oriented football league.

But the problem does not stem from the VAR technology itself, and it never has. Those who want to abolish VAR entirely should recall a refereeing error: in the 2017 League Cup final, Southampton's Manolo Gabbiadini's goal was disallowed. The referee flagged him as offside, but he was not in an offside position; his teammate Ryan Bertrand was in an offside position and was not involved in the play at all. A single replay would have clarified everything, and Southampton ultimately lost the final 2–3 to Manchester United.

VAR's implementation process is outdated

The real problem, from start to finish, is VAR's implementation and operational procedures that are no longer fit for purpose. More troubling still, the personnel responsible for this system lack professional competence. The inability to understand the laws of the game is no longer merely an error, but a fundamental misunderstanding and serious misinterpretation of the rules. This is entirely unacceptable, and those responsible must be held accountable.

It is not only the VAR referee in this match, Matt Donohue, who must be held accountable, but also the governing body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), formerly known as PGMOL. The organisation is led by former referee Howard Webb, who has been in post long enough to have resolved the system. He took office over four years ago, promising that VAR would be a "safety net to correct clear and obvious errors". If that was Webb's objective, he has failed and should be held responsible. VAR is no longer a safety net; it has become a trap, indicating a serious problem with the entire system.

Even if Donohue had doubts about Enzo's involvement, he should have asked the on-field referee, Michael Oliver, to review the situation himself on the pitchside monitor, but he did not. Why not? What prevented him from doing so?

No referee should have awarded this goal. The rules are clear in this situation. When examining the definition of offside, there is a clarification concerning "interfering with an opponent": offside is judged to have occurred if:

> a player clearly attempts to play a ball in the vicinity of him when this action impacts an opponent;

> or performs an obvious action that clearly impacts an opponent's ability to play the ball.

Enzo of Manchester City dived in front of Manchester United's Lisandro Martínez, attempting to head home Gvardiol's cross. This is a clear, undisputed, and textbook example. His action also interfered with Manchester United goalkeeper André Onana's positioning, affecting his anticipation of Haaland's shot.

There are no grey areas here, no ambiguity. The facts are clear and irrefutable. If someone cannot even understand this, they should not be anywhere near a football pitch, let alone sitting in a VAR room making decisions that change the course of such a high-stakes match.

However, the governing body PGMOL never seems to aim for clarity. That said, this time the organisation issued a statement with unusual speed just hours after the match ended, admitting to a refereeing error, which is commendable. Although this statement cannot change the match result and is merely a drop in the ocean for Manchester United and manager Erik ten Hag, who are under enormous pressure, it is still the right thing to do.

A spokesperson for the refereeing body stated: "Regarding the incident in the 60th minute of Sunday's Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford, we can provide clarification on the goal awarded to Erling Haaland.

The on-field decision was that Erling Haaland was in an offside position – this decision was reviewed by VAR and he was deemed to be in a lawful position.

In the same phase of play, it was determined that Enzo did not touch the ball, which would have made any offside offence subjective. However, in this case, VAR should have recognised the potential impact of his position and recommended an on-field review.

We have been in contact with Manchester United this evening and have acknowledged what we consider to be a refereeing error, and we will review the incident."

This must be a red line

But there is a detail here. When the media asked whether this constituted a formal apology, although it was an apology in substance, the organisation's public wording was "we simply acknowledge an error". If the refereeing body is unclear about whether an obvious major error should be called an apology, how can we expect its decisions to be clear and fair? Is it really so difficult to simply admit: yes, this is an apology?

Webb must take control, as we have long been calling for. The self-proclaimed best league in the world – and also the richest and best-resourced – why do such embarrassing refereeing incidents occur so frequently? The Champions League group stage has just concluded, and the World Cup ended not long ago, yet such blatant elementary errors are rarely seen on the European stage.

The governing body PGMOL will argue that such major errors are isolated incidents and present data to prove that VAR's overall accuracy is very high.

In short: most of the time, referees do their job well. But the refereeing error on Haaland's goal was so egregious that this incident should become a red line.

Webb should use this incident to re-examine the guidelines given to the refereeing team, and frankly, to assess whether certain referees are truly fit for the job. The refereeing error on this goal has reached such a serious and embarrassing level.

Traduit par IA.

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