Manchester City's controversial Manchester derby winning goal has been officially ruled a mistake by professional football's refereeing body. The decision to allow Erling Haaland's goal has sparked a huge debate about the application of the offside rule and the role of VAR in crucial matches. In a surprising development after the match, professional football's refereeing body has officially admitted that Haaland's winning goal for Manchester City against Manchester United should not have been disallowed. The 60th-minute goal at Old Trafford proved to be the decisive moment in a tense derby, but officials now admit that the VAR process failed to properly interpret the impact of an offside player. The admission comes after heavy scrutiny from fans and pundits, who questioned how allowed the goal to stand, despite clear interference from City midfielder Enzo Fernandez. A spokesman for English football's refereeing body said after Sunday's match that VAR "did not recognize the potential impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review", while a further investigation will take place. The refereeing body released a full statement to clarify the situation, stressing that Pro The ref admits an error of judgment in relation to the awarded goal. The official statement read: "Following the incident in the 60th minute of Sunday's Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford, we can provide clarification regarding Haaland's awarded goal. The decision on the pitch was offside to Haaland – this was checked by VAR and he was found to be in a legal position". The statement explained: "In the same action, it was found that Enzo Fernandez did not play the ball and therefore any infringement of the offside rule is subjective, however, in this case, VAR did not recognize the potential impact of his position and should have recommended a field review. Manchester United have been contacted this evening to admit what we consider to be an error of judgement. There will be a review of the incident." Manchester United manager Michael Carrick was amazed by the decision-making process at Old Trafford, especially given the amount of technology and staff involved in modern judging. Carrick's frustration was palpable after the final whistle as he questioned the logic behind the decision not to punish Fernandez's move. The United manager did not hold back when asked about the possibility of receiving an apology from Howard Webb and the refereeing team. Discussing the incident, Carrick sarcastically said he was looking forward to an apology from the head referee. He further expanded on his frustration, saying: "The explanation I got was that he wasn't interfering in the game. So I just don't get it. I really don't get it."/Express

Source: prizrenpost