VAR referee Matt Donohue, who was left out of the Premier League appointments for this weekend, admitted an ‘error of judgement’ after the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City by Manchester United.
Donohue, who is assistant VAR to Blake Antrobus, suggested that Erling Haaland’s winner should not be disallowed following an extended appeal at Old Trafford. The out came after Manchester City forward Enzo Fernandez’s appearance to play from outside the box in the build up.
The striker had been given a straight-onside by Michael Oliver offside call before he was onside as shown by Patrick Dorgu. VAR then left the goal untouched, even though it was not suggested that Oliver check the monitor to see what happened with Fernandez.
Acknowledging their error, Pro Ref later stated that Donohue should have called for an on-field review to find out whether Fernandez’s actions had impacted Manchester United full-back Lisandro Martinez and goalkeeper Senne Lammens.
The move drew a lot of criticism, with former United forward Wayne Rooney labelling the move “baffling” and saying he was “wondering how much more of VAR in football can there be?”
“It’s just baffling,” Rooney said on BBC’s Match of the Day 2, saying that those who know the game will understand that Fernandez could be in a position to affect play.
During the international break, both will miss out on the Premier League games this weekend, which means neither is expected to be on the bench until at least October 10. But Michael Oliver has been named to be referee in the game between Bournemouth and Liverpool on Sunday.
The incident has also sparked a discussion about the referees getting tougher penalties for big mistakes. Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher stated officials are already under a microscope and former striker Jay Bothroyd spoke out for action.
Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer for Pro Ref is likely to discuss the controversy in the next episode of “Match Officials: Mic’d Up” on Tuesday, when the call will be subjected to a detailed examination. The furore on top of the one already overhanging Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick after their defeat in the derby.
