Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has expressed his frustration at the ongoing focus on a VAR controversy surrounding Erling Haaland’s winning goal against Manchester United, describing the situation as “quite poor.”
As reported by BBC Sport, the Premier League refereeing body has admitted an error was made in the decision, but Maresca believes the debate has unfairly overshadowed his side’s performance, particularly given they played the majority of the match with 10 men.
Haaland’s goal on the hour mark secured a crucial 1-0 Premier League victory for Manchester City in Sunday’s derby at Old Trafford. The goal was initially disallowed on the field for offside, but the video assistant referee (VAR) overturned the decision, ruling Haaland to be onside.
However, according to BBC Sport, the referees’ body later confirmed that the VAR officials had made a mistake by failing to identify an offside offence by Enzo Fernandez, who was deemed to be interfering with opponents while diving at the ball in a central position.
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City had been reduced to 10 men in the 23rd minute when Phil Foden received a red card for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes. This significant disadvantage, according to Maresca, makes the continued emphasis on the VAR incident particularly galling.
“Talking about one episode or one moment after that game when we played for 70-75 minutes with 10 players, I think it’s quite poor,” Maresca said, as quoted by BBC Sport, speaking before City’s Carabao Cup tie against Norwich. “I think the performance was unbelievable, and I’m pleased with the performance.”
Officials admit VAR error
As detailed by BBC Sport, Premier League refereeing body Pro Ref’s chief Howard Webb publicly admitted the VAR error on ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’. Webb explained that the VAR official became overly focused on Haaland’s position and consequently overlooked the crucial interference from Fernandez.
“The VAR gets super-focused on Haaland,” Webb explained. “He establishes he’s onside, he thinks that’s a good goal. He doesn’t truly evaluate the full impact of Fernandez’s position.”
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Maresca, who succeeded Pep Guardiola as Manchester City manager in the summer, also referenced a past VAR decision that went against City in a 2-1 defeat by United in January 2023.
“Three years ago when I was here [as Guardiola’s assistant], it happened the exact same against United,” Maresca recalled, via BBC Sport. “The goal was not a regular goal and no one apologised. We are still waiting for the apology for that.”
The derby victory marked City’s fourth successive league win, maintaining their strong start to the season despite United hitting the post either side of half-time.
BBC Sport reports that Manchester City will host Norwich on Thursday at 19:30 BST in their Carabao Cup third-round tie, before returning to Premier League action against Sunderland on Sunday, 20 September at 14:00.
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