Sports
Dale Johnson Slams ‘Ridiculous’ VAR Time Spent on Man City Offside
Rules expert Dale Johnson has slammed the use of VAR during Manchester City’s Carabao Cup game against Newcastle United. That said, he reveals that the officials did eventually get the decision correct.
Antoine Semenyo had given Pep Guardiola’s team the lead on just his second appearance for the club and looked to have scored a second when he flicked in a clever finish on the volley. However, referee Chris Kavanagh was told to pause the game amid VAR concerns over a possible offside.
After a lengthy delay, Kavanagh was told to go to the monitor to make a call on a ‘subjective offside’. Looking through a crowd of players, it was ultimately decided that Erling Haaland’s right boot was offside and interfering with play, preventing Nick Pope and Malick Thiaw from stopping the shot.
In the end, the call didn’t prevent City from coming away with the win, as Rayan Cherki netted in injury time to seal a 2-0 lead ahead of the second semi-final match on 4 February. Even so, the call led to much confusion.
Dale Johnson Unhappy With Time Spent on Newcastle vs Man City VAR Call
Johnson, who works for BBC Sport, wrote on his social media account, explaining his issues with the officiating. He said:
“That was the correct offside decision but 5 minutes and 30 seconds was ridiculous.”
He added: “The problem is that if this was a goal no one would really spot the offside.It’s a technical, unseen offside that disallows a goal which is almost exclusively given through VAR. A decision being right doesn’t necessary mean it’s what the game wants.”
VAR Not Supposed To Get Involved in Subjective Offsides Unless Clear Error Was Made
In November 2025, Johnson claimed that “VARs are told not to get involved in subjective offside unless a clear error has been made either way. This is why interventions are quite rare.”
Considering it took over five minutes to come to the final conclusion, it’s fair to say that a ‘clear error’ had not been made. With that in mind, Man City can understandably feel aggrieved that they call went against them – even if Johnson ultimately felt that it was offside.
Kavanagh was asked to come over to the pitchside monitor to view the incident and make a decision on the ‘speculative offside’. The referee announced the decision to the stadium, saying: “After review, Manchester City number nine is in an offside position that impacts the ability of the defender so the decision is offside.”
