Haaland's goal: PGMOL admit error in Man United vs Man City fixture

It has been admitted that the decision to allow Erling Haaland's goal for Man City in their fixture against Man United stand, is an error.

Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), through PRO Ref, has acknowledged an “error of judgement” in the decision to award Erling Haaland’s goal during Manchester City’s Premier League clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The controversial incident occurred in the 60th minute when Haaland found the net for City. The Norwegian was initially flagged for offside, but a VAR review determined that he was in an onside position and the goal was subsequently awarded.

However, officials have now admitted that VAR failed to properly assess the potential impact of Enzo Fernandez’s position during the attacking move.

According to the clarification, Fernandez did not play the ball, meaning any potential offside offence involving him was considered subjective. PRO Ref, however, stated that VAR should have recognised the likely impact of his positioning and recommended that the referee conduct 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,” the statement read.

“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.”

PRO Ref confirmed that Manchester United had been contacted directly following the match to acknowledge the mistake.

“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,” the statement added.

The admission means the focus is not on whether Haaland himself was offside, as VAR established that he was onside, but rather whether Fernandez interfered with play from an offside position and affected the defending team during the move.

The incident is now set to undergo a review as officials examine the VAR process that resulted in the goal being allowed to stand.

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