Premier League: Mark Halsey Disagrees With Man Utd vs Man City ‘Offside’ Goal

· GiveMeSport

The Manchester derby was certainly controversial with a red card and a lengthy VAR check for the winner - and a former PL referee has had his say.

Erling Haaland 's winner at Old Trafford was given, ruled out, and then given again. Now, a former Premier League referee believes the officials landed on the wrong answer.

Haaland turned in Josko Gvardiol's cross on the hour to settle the Manchester derby 1-0 for a City side reduced to ten men by Phil Foden's first-half red card . The assistant's flag went up, VAR intervened, and the goal stood — with Enzo Fernandez 's position in the build-up the sticking point that has brought plenty of differing opinions.

Mark Halsey, who refereed in the Premier League for a decade, has no issue with Haaland's own position - his objection is about the man alongside him.

"When we look at it, Haaland's not offside, but Fernandez is offside," Halsey said. "When the ball comes across, he's in an offside position.

> "Now, being in an offside position is not an offence in itself. It only becomes an offside offence if the player involved becomes involved in active play by interfering with an opponent or making a deliberate play to play the ball. And in my opinion, Enzo Fernández does that. I believe that the assistant referee was correct in flagging Fernandez offside."

The Manchester City attacker was dismissed for a kick-out on Bruno Fernandes in the Manchester Derby.

His sharper point is about whether VAR should have been involved at all.

"It's subjective as to whether you feel that Fernandez is making a deliberate play for the ball, or becoming involved in active play and interfering with defenders," Halsey said. "If that's the case, VAR should have not got involved. They should have stuck with the on-field decision of offside, which I believe was the correct call."

The Premier League's match centre has defended the call, confirming that VAR "determined that Haaland was in an onside position" and that "while in an offside position, Fernandez didn't play the ball."

Halsey is not alone; former Man City keeper Joe Hart felt Fernandez was making "a clear action to go to that ball" and that, by the letter of the law, the goal was offside, while Micah Richards called it "a bad day for referees."

The defender at the centre of the sequence was blunt afterwards in a post-match interview, delivering his words with an underlying notion of frustration. "I think Haaland was offside," Martinez told Sky Sports. "This kind of mistake in the Premier League is unacceptable."

It capped a bruising afternoon for United, who had a man advantage for 67 minutes and failed to take control. Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo both struck the woodwork from distance, with Bryan Mbeumo nearly bailing the home side in the final seconds, and the frustration eventually spilled over on the pitch and in the stands .

The league's explanation is already out and with rival fans, pundits and ex-professional players and referees all having their say, it's safe to say that the derby has left its mark.

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