Why did Haaland’s winner stand? Was Foden’s red fair and did Fernandes get lucky? - The Briefing

Editor’s note: This article has been updated after Pro Ref said officials made an “error of judgement” when applying VAR to assess Erling Haaland’s winning goal.

The Manchester derby was dominated by two controversial refereeing calls, with the goal from Erling Haaland — finally given after a long VAR check — proving decisive in City’s 1-0 away win.

That came after an hour, with the striker looking offside as he slotted home a Josko Gvardiol cross, only for VAR to find him onside due to the position of United defender Patrick Dorgu’s foot as the ball came in. It was also decided that a diving Enzo Fernandez did not interfere with play as he tried to head the cross in before Haaland’s back-post finish.

On Sunday evening, Pro Ref released a statement saying an “error of judgement” was made when applying VAR to assess Haaland’s goal.

That goal had followed a big flashpoint on 23 minutes. Phil Foden was fouled by Bruno Fernandes and then kicked out at the Portuguese, who had also kicked the City forward while he was on the floor. Referee Michael Oliver showed Foden a red card, leaving City a man down for the majority of the game.

Marcus Rashford then hit the post from a free kick just before half-time, and Kobbie Mainoo did the same from 20 yards after the break. But it was Haaland’s goal that sealed the points and kept City on a maximum of 12 from four games.

There were also protests outside and inside Old Trafford against United’s ticketing policy.

Laurie Whitwell, Sam Lee, Stuart James, Graham Scott and Conor O’Neill break down the action.

Should Haaland’s goal have been disallowed?

First, the Dorgu decision. The TV angle creates the impression Haaland is ahead of the United full-back and therefore in an offside position. Had we left the decision to the human eye, the decision to disallow the goal would have stood. This was explained to the referees a couple of years ago and involved the word ‘parallax’. No, me neither.

The SAOT in the Premier League is slower than the system used at the World Cup and can go awry in a crowd scene, but in cases such as this is unerringly accurate.

But aside from the factual positions of Haaland and Dorgu, there is a subjective decision too, as Enzo Fernandez dives towards the ball as it flashes across goal.

Had he touched it, he would have been offside. He didn’t, but there’s also an argument he affected the ability of United defender Lisandro Martinez to play the ball by being in his line of vision.

We later discovered, via a statement from Pro Ref, that officials made an “error of judgement” when applying VAR to assess Haaland’s goal.

A spokesperson for English football’s refereeing body said VAR “did not recognise the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review”.

“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.”

Graham Scott

What was Foden thinking? Did Fernandes get lucky?

Phil Foden became the second Premier League player to be sent off for kicking an opponent in the midriff in retaliation in the first month of the season.

On the opening weekend, Joao Gomes of Aston Villa did the same to Georginio Rutter of Brighton and was sent off after a VAR review. This time, referee Michael Oliver saw the offence for himself and rightly showed Foden a red. See, refs can be consistent.

Foden will no doubt feel aggrieved that his victim, Bruno Fernandes, escaped unpunished, but can have no complaints about his own treatment.

Last season, Reinildo of Sunderland and Brentford’s Kevin Schade both saw red for similar actions, which by coincidence were both on Aston Villa’s Matty Cash.

The question about Fernandes is whether he deserved punishment for his actions, or due to Foden’s overreaction.

That hangs on whether Oliver saw the whole incident and deemed Fernandes not guilty, or missed the start as his gaze only landed on the scene as Foden kicked out.

A yellow card for Fernandes would have felt fair enough, but in any event, VAR cannot intervene on a potential missed caution in these circumstances.

Graham Scott

Bizarre winner in controversial Manchester derby

In the end, the 199th Manchester derby came down to two highly controversial moments. The first incident involved a straight red card for Phil Foden, which, ironically, seemed to help City more than it did United. Bruno Fernandes challenged Foden from behind and then kicked the City winger while he was on the floor.

Foden reacted angrily, kicking out at the United captain in a way that was never going to seriously hurt Fernandes but made it easy for the referee to show a red card. The curious aspect of that episode was how Fernandes managed to escape without any punishment.

As for the other main talking point, debate will rage for days to come.

Erling Haaland looked to be in an offside position when he converted Josko Gvardiol’s cross, and when the flag was raised, the City striker seemed to accept the outcome. However, a VAR check followed.

Haaland, it transpired, was played onside by right-back Patrick Dorgu. That left another question unanswered, though: wasn’t Enzo Fernandez, who made a diving attempt to head home Gvardiol’s centre before it got to Haaland, offside? Yes, and no.

Ultimately, the verdict appeared to be that Fernandez wasn’t interfering with play. It was a bizarre moment to say the least and, on the face of it, hard to understand.

Stuart James

How did United perform against 10 men?

United are not accustomed to dominating the ball against City, and were painfully lacking in ideas once the visitors went down to 10 men on Sunday.

Previous victories over their Mancunian rivals have been built on slick, clinical counter-attacks. And it was clear that head coach Michael Carrick’s game plan today had been drawn up along the same lines, starting the more fluid Matheus Cunha over traditional centre-forward Benjamin Sesko up top.

That counterpunching approach quickly became redundant once Foden was sent off as City retreated into a tight defensive block.

Initially, United reacted poorly to their new circumstances, ponderously circulating the ball and making it easy for City to maintain their shape. A speculative long-range shot from Harry Maguire summed up the lack of imagination; his weak effort trundling along the floor after the absence of purposeful runs ahead of him left him with few other options.

But they raised the tempo in the second half, with Kobbie Mainoo in particular adding forward thrust through some quick, one-touch passing and surging carries. He was unlucky not to score, too, as a curling shot crashed against the post. The Haaland sucker punch killed United’s growing momentum, though, and their play became more stilted again.

Overall, one damning statistic told the story of United’s afternoon.

Although they hit the woodwork twice, they failed to record a single shot on target after the red card until a Bruno Fernandes effort in the 70th minute.

Conor O’Neill

What role did Fernandez play in City’s performance?

City’s second-half performance with 10 men will live long in the memory of the away supporters at Old Trafford to see it, who will regard them as heroes.

Nobody let themselves down, with Elliot Anderson winning the ball back left, right and centre, Iliman Ndiaye proving to be an inspired half-time change, Erling Haaland upping the ante after the break and impressive contributions from each member of the back four.

If anybody most summed up the fight, and some of the dark arts required when playing with 10 men, certainly when you feel aggrieved about the red card itself, it was Enzo Fernandez.

He was everywhere in midfield too, hoovering up loose balls, linking up the play, slowing it down when needed, and buying a few moments by going down holding his face, and getting into a spat with Harry Maguire — both players got a yellow card for that one, so presumably Michael Oliver does know that it is a valid course of action after all.

Fernandez was withdrawn in the final 10 minutes and had to walk around the far side of the pitch, in front of the United fans he had been trying too hard to either pacify or infuriate, depending on whether he was trying to give City a breather on the ball, or shake things up a bit.

The City fans were singing his name all afternoon, in the form of the ‘Zombie’ chant that got its first airing away to Porto in midweek, and his role in this result will earn him a place in City folklore — as will be the case for the rest of his new team.

Sam Lee

How big were the protests inside and outside Old Trafford?

Police estimate around 500 fans attended the protest at the top of Sir Matt Busby Way, which was organised by The 1958 group to demonstrate against United’s policy on ticketing.

The club have been strongly criticised for their handling of a ticket-touting crackdown, which resulted in nearly 700 season-ticket holders having to go through an appeals process to keep their seat after initially being banned. A further 1,000 were indeed sanctioned. Ticket prices have also risen.

A banner held by fans outside Old Trafford read: ‘You take it all from fans and banning us for nothing.’ They let off red, green and gold flares and sang for the removal of the Glazer family as owners, with minority co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe also a target.

Later, Ratcliffe was in the directors’ box as another banner was unfurled by fans in the Stretford End. ‘The way you treat us is a disgrace,’ it said, stretched out right above the players’ tunnel as the teams walked out for maximum impact.

This was the work of TRA, the group which has worked to improve the ground’s atmosphere over the past decade. It also withdrew the flags today that usually populate the Stretford End at matches.

Laurie Whitwell

What did Carrick say?

On the goal, Carrick said after the game: “Yeah, at the time I hadn’t totally seen it. But the explanation I got was he (Fernandez) wasn’t interfering with play, so I just don’t get it. I really don’t get it.

“I can’t understand how they’re trying to help referees and putting so many layers behind them with so many people, so many bodies, so many screens, and so many whatever offices they are to try and come up with the right decisions.

“If that’s how the rules are interpreted, that you’re not interfering with play because you’ve thrown yourself at the ball six yards from goal and pretty much nearly touched it. On top of that, the line was a bit dubious where they drew the line to start with. It’s worrying if that’s really how the game’s seen by those who are officiating it.”

When asked if he had had any more conversations with the referee or officials, Carrick said: “No. Best left, I think.”

What did Maresca say?

Speaking to the BBC’s Match of the Day, City’s manager said: “After the red card, the plan changed completely. The spirit, effort, togetherness of the players has been fantastic. I think it was a red card (for Foden), to be honest, but also in the same action for Bruno. We didn’t concede any transitions or space behind. It’s a special game for everyone; the fans, the club and the manager, but this is not the moment when I’m thinking about myself. I’m thinking about the team and an unbelievable three points.”

On the goal controversy, Maresca said: “I think it was onside clearly, so it’s good.”

What next for United?

Wednesday, September 16: Brighton (Home), Carabao Cup third round, 8pm BST, 3pm ET

What next for City?

Click here to read article