Referees' association says Haaland goal should not have stood and will review incident

Pro Ref, the association of professional referees formerly known as PGMOL, issued an official statement on Sunday evening saying that the goal scored by Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, which gave Manchester City the win in the derby against United, should not have been allowed to stand.

“The on-field decision was offside against Haaland; the move was checked by VAR, which determined that he was in a legal position. In the same passage of play, it was established that Enzo Fernández did not touch the ball — which makes any offside offence subjective — but at that point the VAR did not recognise the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review,” the statement read.

“Contact has been made with Manchester United to acknowledge what is seen as a misjudgement. The incident will be reviewed,” the statement added.

The goal sparked major controversy in England, with several voices weighing in on the matter. Michael Carrick, the Red Devils manager, was among the most critical: “I really don’t understand it, I don’t understand it at all, I can’t see how we are trying to help referees, putting so many layers behind them, so many people, bodies and screens, and yet they still get it wrong and can’t make the right call.

“It is worrying if that is how the game is viewed by those who officiate it… I can’t criticise the players too much, nor will I, because I think we did many things well. Today we did not find exactly what we needed.”

Lisandro Martínez, Manchester United defender also spoke about the decision: “I think it was offside. What I can’t understand are the rules. He [Enzo Fernández] was there and I went to him because he was right in front of me. That’s why Haaland was free behind.

“I want to calm down now and control myself. It is very difficult because you lose a derby, you lose three points at home… it is unacceptable. It’s the best league in the world, you have the best teams in the world, the best players in the world, and now we have to go home with this injustice.”