Erling Haaland's goal in the Manchester derby sparked a major refereeing controversy, reigniting calls to scrap VAR. The Telegraph's Jason Burt argued that the problem lies not with VAR itself, but with how it is implemented. The Premier League takes pride in being the world's best league, yet such egregious refereeing mistakes occur regularly, while comparable elementary errors are rare in European competitions. Webb must take control and use this incident to reassess whether certain referees are fit for their roles.

Ultimately, without VAR, the correct decision would have been made—the linesman had already raised his flag for offside. We would have been spared the endless replay analysis, watching a correct decision inexplicably overturned.

The initial offside was flagged against Erling Haaland, but in fact it was his teammate Enzo Fernández who was in an offside position; however, the linesman's decision itself was actually correct on this occasion.

Scrapping VAR entirely is the easiest solution. The English Football League (EFL) has conveniently joined this camp, claiming it doesn't need VAR and that the Premier League can keep the system to itself. Frankly, it's largely a matter of cost, but for the EFL it's a PR move to appease supporters, positioning itself as a purer football league more connected to fans.

But the problem has never been with VAR technology itself. Those calling for VAR's complete abolition should recall a refereeing error: in the 2017 League Cup final, Southampton's Manolo Gabbiadini's goal was disallowed. The linesman flagged for offside, but Gabbiadini wasn't offside; his teammate Ryan Bertrand was in an offside position, and Bertrand wasn't even involved in the play. A single replay would have revealed the facts, and Southampton ultimately lost the final to Manchester United 2-3.

VAR implementation is outdated

The real problem, from start to finish, is VAR's implementation and operational procedures that no longer suit the game. More troubling is that the personnel responsible for this system lack the necessary professional competence. Misunderstanding football rules isn't just one mistake—it represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the laws with serious misinterpretations. This is entirely unacceptable, and the responsible personnel must be held accountable.

Accountability extends beyond VAR referee Matt Donoghue to the governing body PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited). The organization is headed by former referee Howard Webb, who has held his position long enough to have streamlined this system. He took office over four years ago, promising VAR would be an "insurance policy for correcting clear and obvious errors." If that was Webb's goal, he has failed and must be held accountable. VAR is no longer insurance; it has become a liability, pointing to a serious flaw in the entire system.

Even if Donoghue had doubts about the Enzo Fernández incident, he should have asked referee Michael Oliver to review it himself on the pitch-side monitor, but he did not. Why not? What stopped him?

No referee should have allowed this goal. The law is clear in this situation. Looking at the offside rule definition, there is a section on "interfering with an opponent," which states that offside occurs if:

> a player clearly attempts to play the ball that is near them, and this action impacts an opponent;

> or commits an act that clearly obstructs an opponent from playing the ball.

Enzo Fernández of Manchester City rushed in front of Manchester United's Lisandro Martínez, attempting to head Pep Guardiola's cross—a clear, indisputable, textbook example. His action also impeded United goalkeeper André Onana's positioning, affecting his assessment of Erling Haaland's shot.

There are no gray areas, no ambiguity. The facts are clear and undeniable. If someone cannot even grasp this, they have no place on a football pitch, let alone sitting in the VAR room making match-deciding calls in such a high-stakes game.

However, PGMOL's modus operandi never seems to prioritize clarity. This time, however, within hours of the match's conclusion, the organization unusually and swiftly released a statement acknowledging the refereeing error, which is commendable. Even if this statement cannot change the match result and offers only a drop in the ocean for Manchester United, who face immense pressure, and their manager Ruben Amorim, it is still the right thing to do.

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

The on-field decision at the time was that Erling Haaland was in an offside position—this was reviewed by VAR, which determined he was not in an offside position.

In the same phase of play, it was established that Enzo Fernández did not touch the ball. However, in this case, VAR should have recognized the potential interference from his positioning and should have recommended an on-field review.

This evening we contacted Manchester United to acknowledge what we consider to be a refereeing error, and we will review this incident."

This must be a line in the sand

But here's the telling detail. When media representatives asked if this constituted an official apology—which it clearly was—the organization's public statement read: "we simply acknowledge the error." If the refereeing body cannot confidently call a blatant and serious mistake an apology, how can we expect their decisions to be clear and fair? Is it really so difficult to simply say: yes, this is an apology?

Webb must take control of the situation, which we have been calling for. Why do such shameful refereeing incidents occur so frequently in a league that prides itself on being the best in the world—and the richest and most well-resourced? The first round of the Champions League has just concluded, and the World Cup ended not long ago, yet such absurd elementary errors are rare in European competitions.

PGMOL will argue that such serious errors are isolated incidents and will present data showing that VAR's overall accuracy is very high.

In short: most of the time, referees do their jobs well. But the error in judgment on Erling Haaland's goal was too egregious, and this incident must be a line in the sand.

Webb must use this incident to review the instructions given to the refereeing team and, frankly, to assess whether certain referees are truly fit for their roles. The severity of the error in judgment on this goal has reached a point where it is simply unacceptable.

Переведено ИИ.

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