The video assistant referee officials responsible for wrongly awarding Erling Haaland’s winning goal in Sunday’s Manchester derby have been stood down from upcoming Premier League and League Cup assignments, English refereeing body Pro Ref confirmed.
Lead VAR Matt Donohue and assistant VAR Blake Antrobus were removed from this weekend's matchday roster by Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb following a post-match review. Donohue will also miss midweek Carabao Cup fixtures, sidelining both officials until after the upcoming international break in mid-October at the earliest, while on-field referee Michael Oliver has retained his weekend appointment for Liverpool’s trip to Bournemouth.
The sanction follows Manchester City's 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford, where Haaland scored from a Joško Gvardiol cross in the 60th minute. Although assistant referee Stuart Burt initially flagged the play for offside, Donohue used semi-automated offside technology to verify Haaland was onside and subsequently overturned the on-field decision without sending Oliver to the pitchside monitor.
The VAR hub concluded that because City midfielder Enzo Fernández never touched the ball, no offside infraction had taken place. However, International Football Association Board rules stipulate that a player in an offside position commits an offense when clearly attempting to play a ball nearby and impacting an opponent. Fernández made an active run toward the cross, drawing the attention of United defender Lisandro Martínez and leaving Haaland completely unmarked at the back post.
Pro Ref issued a statement acknowledging that a significant breakdown in process had occurred. "In the same attack, it was established that Enzo Fernández did not play the ball and therefore that makes any offside offence subjective, however, on this occasion, the VAR did not recognise the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review," the organization stated, adding that it had contacted Manchester United directly to acknowledge the "error of judgment".
