talkSPORT host Adrian Durham has called for the Premier League to scrap VAR, saying it makes officials "look stupid."

VAR came under fire once again after Erling Haaland scored the winning goal in the Manchester derby. Manchester City's goal was allowed after a lengthy review at Old Trafford.

In the 60th minute, Haaland headed home Gvardiol's cross at the far post, but the goal was initially ruled out for offside.

VAR then intervened and overturned the decision, determining that Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot's positioning had kept Haaland onside.

However, VAR missed that Enzo Fernández was in an offside position in the build-up to the goal and was interfering with play.

The decision sparked major controversy, and Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), which oversees professional football referees in England, later acknowledged that failing to disallow the goal for offside was a mistake.

PGMOL also acknowledged that on-field referee Michael Oliver should have been asked to review the incident. Chief referee Howard Webb will address the issue on Sky Sports on Tuesday.

Durham: VAR is a cancer on our sport

Haaland's allowed goal drew fierce criticism, with Manchester United manager Michael Carrick blasting VAR officials and insisting their decision "didn't comply with the rules."

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher also questioned the decision. He told talkSPORT that he cannot believe the offside goal was not disallowed.

Following the major controversy, talkSPORT host Durham called for VAR to be scrapped or reformed to prevent similar incidents in future.

Speaking about Sunday's controversy on Monday evening, Durham said: "I think VAR is a cancer on this sport. I don't think we need it, and I don't think we ever needed it."

"I think this should be the starting point for a serious discussion about whether we remove it entirely or partially."

"I just want to ask, what's the point? After a mistake like that, we now know the names of the VAR officials involved because they've been removed from duty for next week's matches. What's the point of that? We didn't know their names before, did we?"

"So everything about it is terrible. I think PGMOL has got it completely wrong."

"They've completely misjudged public opinion on VAR."

The Premier League introduced VAR in the 2019/20 season after clubs unanimously voted to implement the technology in the league.

Given the high cost of installing VAR systems in stadiums, Durham's co-host Sam Matterface noted that cost is also a major barrier to scrapping VAR.

However, Durham stressed that Sunday's controversy is a strong reason to remove VAR. He said: "The decision on the pitch was correct, and then VAR changed it. It makes me wonder, what's the point of all this?"

"You're telling me they've invested so much money, and it's all wasted. That money should go into grassroots football, into kids' football."

"Stop talking about making referees look good. We pay them to look good, and instead they're making themselves look stupid."

"Football needs to take control of this. Someone needs to tell PGMOL, 'Stay in your lane, know your limits, and let us run football.'"

Steve Bruce: Haaland's goal is the "worst" VAR decision

Former Manchester United captain Steve Bruce also spoke on the show. He called for the VAR officials involved in the Manchester derby to be sacked, and the officials' team from Sunday has been removed from this weekend's matches.

He said angrily: "This is getting more and more ridiculous. VAR was introduced to correct clear and obvious errors."

"If it's not clear and obvious, he's clearly standing in an offside position there—I really don't understand why he's still in position, because if he's a referee and clearly doesn't really understand the sport, he shouldn't be in that position."

"VAR was originally intended to address Thierry Henry's handball, which cost Ireland a place in the World Cup, and Diego Maradona's handball."

He also said: "This decision against Manchester United is the worst I've ever seen. The player was five yards offside and attempted to bend down and head the ball into the goal. If that's not interfering with play, then I really don't know what these people and officials are doing."

"They should be sacked. It's terrible, but all parties involved made a decision that couldn't possibly be worse."

Ally McCoist calls for a "referendum" on VAR

Ally McCoist also joined calls to scrap VAR on talkSPORT's breakfast show on Tuesday. He urged England's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to hold a public vote on the issue.

He said: "I want a referendum on VAR."

"If Sir Keir Starmer wants to win the hearts of the English public, he should hold a referendum on VAR."

"And I think we all know what the result would be. VAR has got to go!"

McCoist also insisted that fans would more easily accept Haaland's goal if it had been allowed due to human error.

The Scotsman added: "If it's just an honest mistake, we've accepted that since this sport began."

"What's unacceptable is they watch the same footage 10, 12 times and still make the wrong call."

Human error, not VAR, is to blame

While others insist the controversy means VAR should be scrapped, talkSPORT's Simon Jordan argued that the problem with Haaland's allowed goal is human error and technology should not be blamed.

He said: "When you're making a judgment based on whether it's interfering with play, there will always be a level of subjectivity."

"The offside rule has evolved and changed over several decades."

"This isn't a technology problem. This is a matter of personal judgment, depending on whether the VAR referee watching the replay believes that player is interfering with play, and he made the wrong call this time."

"That's it, nothing to do with technology."

Jordan also said that many people watching the controversy might have reached the same conclusion as the VAR official.

The pundit added: "I'd like to know what Michael Carrick's first reaction was when he was sitting there commenting on the referee's decision—who did he first think was offside?"

"I'd wager the first person he thought of was the goalscorer, meaning the first person he thought was offside. But we'll never know that because we'll never get the other side of the story."

"That's a poor referee decision, a poor call, and these things will continue to happen."

"Referees will make poor decisions, and technology will help you reduce some poor decisions and get more calls right than wrong."

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