VAR Fails Again at Old Trafford: Video Referee Suspended by Premier League
In the Manchester derby at Old Trafford last weekend, a contentious decision by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) sparked widespread debate. Due to an error by the VAR official, a Manchester City goal was ruled valid, but this decision directly led to the official and his assistant being excluded from the Premier League refereeing panel this weekend.
According to internal sources, the VAR team confirmed the goal after review but failed to notice that Enzo Fernández was in an offside position before Erling Haaland's strike, and interfered with the defensive play. The refereeing body publicly acknowledged that the VAR official failed to urge on-field referee Michael Oliver to review the footage at the pitchside monitor to assess whether Fernández's interference constituted offside, which was seen as a clear oversight. Initially, the goal was disallowed due to Haaland being offside, but subsequent replays showed that Patrick Dorgu had "pulled" Haaland back into an onside position.
Fernández, while contesting a header, significantly interfered with Manchester United defender Lisandro Martínez and goalkeeper Senne Lammens, meeting the criteria for an offside offense. The VAR official only made his Premier League debut in May 2024, was promoted to the English Football League assistant referees list in 2014, and has frequently undertaken VAR duties over the past two years. His assistant was also not assigned duties this weekend. Oliver is scheduled to officiate Sunday's match between Bournemouth and Liverpool as planned.
Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney was baffled by the decision to allow the goal, publicly stating: "I'm completely fed up with VAR, it's terrible, it sucks the passion and energy out of the game. They didn't see that Fernández was offside... anyone who has played the game knows that's offside... it's unbelievable how wrong it was."
The refereeing body has been in contact with Manchester United regarding the incident, and its chief refereeing officer is expected to respond publicly in a related program on Tuesday, likely discussing the mistake in detail. According to authoritative sources, management has decided not to assign the VAR official and his assistant to officiate matches, meaning they cannot return to top-flight refereeing duties until at least October 10 local time—after the international break.