VAR missed Enzo Fernandez offside for Manchester City's derby winner, admits Howard Webb
Referees' chief Howard Webb has admitted the video assistant referee failed to assess an offside offence by Enzo Fernandez for Manchester City's winning goal in Sunday's Manchester derby at Old Trafford. VAR Matt Donohue and assistant Blake Antrobus have been stood down until after the international break.
- Competition: Premier League — Manchester derby at Old Trafford
- Key incident: Erling Haaland's 60th-minute goal was initially disallowed on the field for offside, then awarded after a VAR review found him onside
- Missed offence: Fernandez committed an offside offence by diving at the ball in a central position and interfering with opponents
- Officials stood down: VAR Matt Donohue and assistant Blake Antrobus will not officiate again until after the international break
- Webb's verdict: "This goal should've been disallowed" — he was "really disappointed" with the outcome
- Also covered: Webb backed Phil Foden's red card for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes in the 23rd minute
What was said
"I was really disappointed with this outcome. We all are. None more so than the officials themselves. They take a lot of personal pride in what they do and they're obviously hurting now, having fallen short in this situation."
"They'll not be officiating again until after the international break."
"The VAR gets super-focused on Haaland. He establishes he's onside, he thinks that's a good goal. He doesn't truly evaluate the full impact of Fernandez's position. He has a look to see if he touches the ball, because then that relates to potentially knocking it to Haaland, who goes on to score. In that moment, he gets tunnel vision. It's down to the rest of his team to pull him out of that tunnel, and unfortunately, that didn't happen on this occasion."
"What looks like a really clear subjective offside, because Fernandez doesn't touch the ball but still clearly impacts [the play but] doesn't get identified, and it's really disappointing. This goal should've been disallowed. And highly unfortunately, it wasn't, and we'll review it, reflect upon it, and try to take the learning forward to prevent this unusual type of error from happening again."
"I agree with the red card for Phil Foden. He kicks out with force into the upper body of Bruno Fernandes. Now, when you look at the footage, there is that petulant kick by Bruno Fernandes into the backside of Foden. It is more petulant than violent. To be violent conduct, it has to have excessive force or brutality. When you look at that, particularly in full speed, it doesn't have those elements. So therefore, this would be a yellow card offence."
Webb's admission is striking because it confirms the error was not a borderline judgement call but a failure of process. The VAR team, according to the audio released on the first edition of 'Match Officials Mic'd Up' this season, never considered Fernandez's position as an offside offence at all. Instead they became fixated on whether Haaland was onside from Josko Gvardiol's cross.
The semi-automated offside technology told the VAR that Haaland was three centimetres onside. From that point, the video officials only checked whether Fernandez had touched the ball, which would have created a new offside phase against Haaland. They did not evaluate whether Fernandez, diving at the ball in a central position, was interfering with opponents — including Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez and goalkeeper Sanne Lammens.
The numbers
- 3cm: the margin by which Erling Haaland was onside from Josko Gvardiol's cross, as measured by semi-automated offside technology
- 60th minute: when Haaland thought he had scored the only goal of the game
- 23rd minute: when Phil Foden was shown a red card for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes
- 2 officials: Matt Donohue and Blake Antrobus stood down until after the international break
Why the VAR got tunnel vision — and why it matters
The technical failure here is straightforward, and Webb's own language explains it best. The semi-automated offside system gave the VAR team a binary answer on Haaland — three centimetres onside — and from that moment the review narrowed to a single question: did Enzo Fernandez touch the ball? That is a factual check. What the officials skipped was the subjective assessment that sits underneath it: was Fernandez, diving centrally, interfering with an opponent? Lisandro Martinez was in close proximity and goalkeeper Sanne Lammens was positioned for Fernandez to play the ball. On the Mic'd Up audio, that assessment simply never happened.
This is the structural weakness of VAR in its current form. Semi-automated technology answers the objective part of offside quickly and accurately, which encourages officials to trust it and move on. But when a second player is involved in the same phase — not touching the ball, yet clearly affecting play — the human judgement call becomes the decisive one. Matt Donohue and Blake Antrobus collapsed two separate decisions into one and only completed the easier half.
Webb also confirmed he had already contacted Manchester United to share the VAR audio and video. That is the right response, but it does not change the result. The goal stood, and the officials responsible will not work again until after the international break — a clear signal that Pro Ref regards this as a genuine error rather than a matter of interpretation.
Talking points
- Should a missed offside like this be correctable after the match, or does that open a door football cannot close?
- Webb says Fernandez "clearly impacts" the play — if it was that clear, why did two trained video officials both miss it?
- Foden's red card is backed, yet Bruno Fernandes escaped a sanction for kicking out. Is that consistency or a loophole?
- Stood-down officials miss a round of fixtures. Is that a punishment, a cooling-off period, or simply good practice?
What happens next
Donohue and Antrobus will not officiate again until after the international break, at which point they are expected to return to the Premier League roster. Webb said Pro Ref will review the incident and "take the learning forward" to prevent what he called an "unusual type of error" from recurring. Manchester United have already received the VAR audio and video from Webb directly. The wider question — whether the Mic'd Up format should be extended so supporters hear this audio live — remains open.
Frequently asked questions
Why was Enzo Fernandez not given offside in the Manchester derby?
The VAR team became focused on whether Erling Haaland was onside from Josko Gvardiol's cross and only checked if Fernandez touched the ball. They never assessed whether Fernandez, diving at the ball centrally, was committing an offside offence by interfering with opponents.
Who is the VAR who missed the Enzo Fernandez offside?
Matt Donohue was the video assistant referee, with Blake Antrobus as his assistant. Webb confirmed neither will officiate again until after the international break.
Why was Phil Foden sent off against Manchester United?
Foden was shown a red card in the 23rd minute for kicking out with force into the upper body of Bruno Fernandes. Webb said he agreed with the decision, describing Fernandes' own kick as "more petulant than violent" and only a yellow-card offence.
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