Manchester City's derby victory over Manchester United has thrown the spotlight back onto the Premier League's ongoing struggles with video assistant referee technology, after officials admitted a clear error in allowing Erling Haaland's winning goal to stand.
The goal, which arrived from a cross by Josko Gvardiol, should have been ruled out for offside interference involving Enzo Fernandez, who was in a clearly offside position when he lunged at the delivery. Despite the obvious infringement, VAR did not intervene, and the goal was allowed to count, sparking immediate confusion and anger from pundits and fans alike.
Former Manchester United defender and current television pundit Gary Neville captured the widespread bewilderment in the aftermath, saying he needed "the offside rule explained" to him — a striking admission from someone with nearly two decades of top-flight playing experience and a further 15 years analyzing the game as a broadcaster.
Hours after the final whistle, Pro Ref, the body formerly known as PGMOL, issued a statement acknowledging the mistake. According to their explanation, it was determined that Fernandez did not actually play the ball, which technically makes any offside offense a matter of interpretation. However, the statement conceded that the VAR official failed to properly account for Fernandez's likely impact on the play and should have advised an on-field review of the incident. The organization confirmed it had been in contact with Manchester United to address the error.
This is far from an isolated case. Data compiled by the Premier League's key match incidents panel and reported by the BBC showed 25 VAR errors across last season, a jump from 18 the previous campaign. Arsenal and Chelsea were notably the clubs that benefited most from these mistakes, with seven and eight errors working in their favor respectively. Six of the errors involved a failure to issue red cards that should have been given.
The same weekend brought further scrutiny of refereeing decisions elsewhere. Questions were also raised about whether Bruno Fernandes deserved a red card for an early flashpoint with Phil Foden, though that incident was viewed as more ambiguous than the offside blunder involving Haaland's goal.
The controversy comes as the Premier League approaches nearly a decade since VAR's introduction to English football, with the technology still failing to deliver the accuracy and consistency it was designed to provide. Despite various adjustments over the years — including the rollout of semi-automated offside technology in 2025 and expanded criteria for reviewable incidents such as second yellow cards — fundamental errors in judgment continue to undermine confidence in the system.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta added his voice to the criticism following his side's away win at Sunderland, where a penalty was awarded against Arsenal in a goalless match before David Raya saved the resulting spot-kick. Even in victory, Arteta did not hold back his frustration.
"I'm so upset," Arteta said. "It's unacceptable at this level. Unacceptable. This can change the course of a season, the championship."
Arsenal have since requested a formal explanation from Pro Ref regarding the penalty decision.
For Manchester United, the immediate consequences of the disputed derby loss are significant. The result leaves the club with just four points from their opening four matches, intensifying scrutiny on manager Michael Carrick, who reportedly described the explanation given for the goal being allowed to stand as "staggering."
As the Premier League continues to grapple with the reliability of its officiating technology, this latest incident serves as another reminder that acknowledging errors after the fact does little to change outcomes on the pitch — a frustration shared by clubs, managers, and fans across the division.
Based on reporting from Independent (football).