Reaction to VAR decision in Manchester United vs Man City proves just how bad it was

Need to know

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland scored a controversial winner against Man United to seal the bragging rights in the derby

All you need to know about Manchester United fans’ VAR verdict after Manchester City controversy:

1. The Manchester derby ended in controversy on Sunday as City took the bragging rights at Old Trafford.
2. With City a man down, Erling Haaland scored just after the hour mark to give Enzo Maresca’s side a lead to defend.
3. However, the assistant referee initially raised his flag for offside. This was checked by VAR officials Matt Donohue and Blake Antrobus.
4. First, the Stockley Park duo checked to see if Haaland was in an offside position, which they deemed him not to be. Attention then turned to Enzo Fernandez in the centre.
5. Fernandez was in an offside position but VAR decided that because he did not touch the ball, he had not interfered with play and therefore the goal should stand.
6. Following the game, MEN Sport asked our United readers: ‘Did VAR make a mistake in allowing Erling Haaland’s goal vs United?’
7. At the time of writing, 1,896 responses have been received with a whopping 85 per cent voting ‘Yes’. A mere 13 per cent voted ‘No’, while just two per cent were ‘Unsure’.
8. On Sunday evening, Pro Ref released a statement acknowledging their error. They said: “The on-field decision was offside against Erling Haaland – that was checked by VAR and he was found to be in an onside position. In the same attack, it was established that Enzo Fernandez 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. Contact has been made with Manchester United this evening to acknowledge what we deem is an error of judgement. A review of the incident will take place.” Read the full story, here.