Howard Webb admits VAR missed Enzo Fernandez offside in Manchester derby winner

VAR got the Manchester derby wrong, and the man in charge of England’s referees has said so on the record. Howard Webb admitted that the video assistant referee failed to assess Enzo Fernandez for offside before the goal that won the game for Manchester United at Old Trafford. Speaking on the first edition of the season of Match Officials Mic’d Up, Webb said he was “really disappointed” with the error, an admission that puts the Premier League’s VAR operation under fresh scrutiny just weeks into the campaign.

What Howard Webb said about the VAR error

Webb confirmed that VAR Matt Donohue and his assistant Blake Antrobus did not carry out the offside check on Enzo Fernandez that protocol requires before a goal is confirmed. The PGMOL chief described himself as “really disappointed” and made clear the mistake was a failure of process rather than a marginal judgement call.

The public admission follows the approach Webb has taken since launching Match Officials Mic’d Up, where audio between the referee and the VAR hub is released to explain key decisions. Supporters of the format argue it builds trust. Critics point out that transparency after the fact does nothing to change a result.

Haaland’s disallowed goal and the Fernandez winner

Erling Haaland thought he had scored the only goal of the game for Manchester City in the 60th minute at Old Trafford, but the effort was ruled out on the field for offside and then went to a VAR review. By contrast, the goal from Enzo Fernandez that decided the derby in Manchester United’s favour did not receive a proper offside assessment.

Wayne Rooney, the former United captain, called the officiating decisions “baffling”. With one goal disallowed and the decisive goal now officially acknowledged as unchecked, the derby has become the first major refereeing controversy of the Premier League season.

Why the Premier League’s VAR system keeps failing on basics

The Premier League introduced semi-automated offside technology to speed up and standardise offside calls. The derby error shows the weakness remains human: the technology cannot flag a position that the VAR team never asks it to check. It is the same category of mistake that saw a Luis Diaz goal wrongly disallowed for Liverpool at Tottenham in 2023, when the VAR misunderstood the on-field decision.

Managers across the league have repeatedly called for clearer communication from the VAR hub to the referee and to the stadium. Webb’s admission is likely to strengthen those calls, particularly from Manchester City, who lost three points in a fixture that could matter in the title race.

What happens next for the officials and the result

Webb did not announce any sanction against Matt Donohue or Blake Antrobus in the broadcast segment. PGMOL’s usual practice after serious errors has been to stand officials down from high-profile fixtures for a period, but no official decision has been communicated at this stage.

The result at Old Trafford stands. The Laws of the Game as set by IFAB do not allow a match to be replayed because of a refereeing error of judgement, however costly. Manchester United keep the win and Manchester City must move on.

FAQ