VAR Duo Stood Down After Controversial Manchester Derby Decision

Matt Donohue, the video assistant referee at the centre of the controversial decision to allow Erling Haaland’s winner in the Manchester derby, has been left off Premier League duty this weekend.

Assistant VAR Blake Antrobus has also been stood down after Pro Ref, English football’s refereeing body, admitted an “error of judgement” in the handling of the only goal of Manchester City’s win at Old Trafford.

VAR duo stood down

Donohue, 37, was the lead VAR on the incident and will not feature on next weekend’s Premier League fixture list. It is the first round of league matches this season for which he has not been selected, having previously worked VAR on Brighton & Hove Albion’s opening-day victory over Aston Villa, Sunderland’s win against Fulham and Newcastle United’s draw with Bournemouth.

He has also not been appointed to this midweek’s Carabao Cup ties.

The call to remove Donohue and Antrobus from appointments was taken by Pro Ref’s chief refereeing officer Howard Webb and the organisation’s management team. The decision means the pair will not officiate again until at least after the upcoming international break.

The derby flashpoint

Haaland’s goal was initially ruled out for offside. The Manchester City striker appeared to be beyond Manchester United full-back Patrick Dorgu when the cross came in, while Enzo Fernandez was also in an offside position and lunging towards the ball.

On the field, the assistant flagged and the referee disallowed the goal. VAR then intervened and overturned the decision, ruling Haaland onside and allowing the goal to stand.

After the match, a Pro Ref spokesperson accepted that the VAR team had made a mistake, saying the official “did not recognise the likely impact of his (Fernandez’s) position and should have recommended an on-field review”.

The organisation added: “Contact has been made with Manchester United to acknowledge what we deem is an error of judgement. A review of the incident will take place.”

Law, interpretation and the fallout

Premier League rules state that “a player will be penalised if they are clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent”.

In this case, Fernandez, in an offside position, attacked the cross while being closely marked by Lisandro Martinez. That duel dragged Martinez towards Fernandez and left Haaland free at the back post to score.

During the game, the Premier League match centre explained the decision in real time: “VAR checked the referee’s call of no goal for offside – and determined that Haaland was in an onside position and recommended that the goal was awarded. The VAR also deemed that while in an offside position, Fernandez didn’t play the ball.”

That interpretation has now been disowned by Pro Ref. The process will be pored over in the coming review, the officials temporarily sidelined, and the debate over how VAR judges “impact on an opponent” will only intensify as the season rolls on.