Haaland's winning goal in the Manchester Derby has sparked sensational refereeing controversy, once again calling for VAR to be scrapped. Jason Burt, a journalist at The Daily Telegraph, writes that the problem is not VAR itself, but its implementation. The Premier League prides itself on being the world's best league, yet embarrassing refereeing errors like this happen frequently, while fatal mistakes are rare in European competitions. Webb must step in to control the situation and use this incident to reassess whether some referees are truly competent for the job.

Ultimately, without VAR, the correct decision would have been made—the assistant referee had already raised his flag for offside. We would also avoid endless video review delays, watching correct decisions inexplicably overturned.

The initial offside call was against Haaland, but his teammate Enzo was actually in an offside position; however, the assistant referee's decision was correct on this occasion.

Scrapping VAR is the simplest solution. The English Football League (EFL) has cleverly joined this camp, claiming their league doesn't need VAR and that the Premier League can keep the system for themselves. Honestly, this is more about cost considerations, but for the EFL, it's a public relations move to attract attention, positioning themselves as a purer, fan-oriented football league.

But the problem is not with VAR technology itself—it never has been. Those who want to completely abolish VAR might recall an injustice: in the 2017 League Cup final, a goal by Southampton's Manolo Gabbiadini was disallowed. The assistant referee raised his flag for offside, but Gabbiadini was not in an offside position at all; his teammate Ryan Bertrand was offside, and Bertrand wasn't even involved in the attack. One replay would have clarified everything, but Southampton ultimately lost the final 2-3 to Manchester United.

VAR Implementation Process Is Outdated

The real problem, all along, has been VAR implementation and operational procedures that no longer suit the game. More troubling is that the professional competence of personnel responsible for the system is inadequate. Failing to understand the rules of football is no longer just a mistake—it's a fundamental misunderstanding of the rules and serious misinterpretation. This is wholly unacceptable, and the relevant personnel must be held accountable.

It's not just VAR referee Matt Donohue for this match who bears responsibility, but also the governing body, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). This organization is headed by former referee Howard Webb, who has been in position long enough to streamline the system. He took over more than four years ago, promising VAR would be a "safety net to correct clear and obvious errors." If that was Webb's goal, he has failed and must be held accountable. VAR is no longer a safety net—it's a trap, exposing serious problems with the entire system.

Even if Donohue was uncertain about the Enzo incident, he should have asked main referee Michael Oliver to review it personally on the pitchside monitor, but he didn't. Why not? What stopped him?

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

> a player clearly attempts to play the ball in close proximity to them, and this action affects an opponent;

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

Manchester City player Enzo jumped in front of Manchester United player Lisandro Martínez, attempting to head Gvardiol's cross—a textbook case of clear and undeniable interference. His action also affected Manchester United goalkeeper André Onana's positioning, impacting his anticipation of Haaland's shot.

There is no ambiguity here, no room for misinterpretation. The facts are clear and undeniable. If someone cannot understand this, they should not be anywhere near a football pitch, let alone in the VAR room making decisions in important matches that can change the outcome.

Yet PGMOL's modus operandi seems never to pursue clarity. This time, however, a rare swift statement from the organization—acknowledging the refereeing error just hours after the match—deserves praise. Even if this statement cannot change the match result, and is merely a drop in the ocean for Manchester United and manager Ruben Amorim, who faces intense pressure, it is still the right thing to do.

A PGMOL spokesperson 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 the goal awarded to Erling Haaland.

The on-field decision was that Erling Haaland was in an offside position—this decision was checked by VAR, which determined he was in an onside position.

In the same phase of play, it was determined that Enzo did not touch the ball, which would make an offside infringement subjective. However, in this case, VAR failed to recognize the potential impact of his positioning and should have recommended a pitchside review.

We have contacted Manchester United this evening to acknowledge what we believe was a refereeing error, and we will review the incident."

This Almost Certainly Should Be a Red Line

But there's a detail here. When pressed by media whether this constitutes a formal apology, although it essentially does, the organization's public statement is merely "we acknowledge the error." If the refereeing team hesitates to call it an apology when faced with a clear, obvious, and major error, how can we expect their decisions to be clear and fair? Is it really so difficult to simply acknowledge: yes, this is an apology?

Webb must step in and take control—something we have advocated for long ago. Why does the world's best league, which claims that title for itself—also the richest league with the best resources—so often experience such embarrassing refereeing incidents? The first round of the new Champions League has just ended, and the World Cup was not long ago, yet fatal errors like this are rarely seen in European competitions.

PGMOL will argue that major errors like this are isolated incidents and will present data to prove that VAR's overall accuracy rate is very high.

Simply put: most of the time, referees do their job well. But the error in the Haaland goal decision is too glaring; this incident must be a red line.

Webb must use this incident to review the guidelines given to refereeing teams and, frankly, to reassess whether some referees are truly competent for the job. The severity of this wrong goal decision has reached a point where action is necessary, and it is utterly embarrassing.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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