‘Really disappointing’ – Howard Webb slams ‘tunnel vision’ of officials that missed offside for Man City goal

· talkSPORT-PL

Howard Webb has admitted that VAR Matt Donohue missing the offside call in the weekend's Manchester derby was an oversight.

Howard Webb has admitted that VAR Matt Donohue missing the offside call in the weekend's Manchester derby was an oversight.

Erling Haaland scored for Manchester City in a 1-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday and the goal was awarded after a lengthy review.

The decision to let the goal stand raised eyebrows as midfielder Enzo Fernandez appeared to be in an offside position and interfering with playing, despite him not touching the ball.

A post from the Premier League Match Centre read: > "VAR checked the referee's call of no goal for offside – and determined that Haaland was in an onside position and recommended that the goal was awarded. > > "The VAR also deemed that while in an offside position, Fernandez didn’t play the ball."

However, referee governing body Pro Ref later admitted that it was the wrong decision, with VAR Donohue and assistant Blake Antrobus not featuring in the next set of Premier League matches.

Pro Ref chief Webb has now addressed what happened and admitted his frustration with the outcome.

VAR had 'tunnel vision'

> "I was really disappointed with this outcome. We all are," he said on Match Officials Mic'd Up, per the BBC.

> "None more so than the officials themselves. They take a lot of personal pride in what they do and they're obviously hurting now, having fallen short in this situation.

> "They'll not be officiating again until after the international break."

Webb, a former referee himself, added: > "The VAR gets super-focused on Haaland. He establishes he's onside, he thinks that's a good goal.

> "He doesn't truly evaluate the full impact of Fernandez's position. He has a look to see if he touches the ball, because then that relates to potentially knocking it to Haaland, who goes on to score.

> "In that moment, he gets tunnel vision. It's down to the rest of his team to pull him out of that tunnel, and unfortunately, that didn't happen on this occasion.

> "What looks like a really clear subjective offside, because Fernandez doesn't touch the ball but still clearly impacts [the play but] doesn't get identified, and it's really disappointing.

> "This goal should've been disallowed. And highly unfortunately, it wasn't, and we'll review it, reflect upon it, and try to take the learning forward to prevent this unusual type of error from happening again."

Pro Ref said they contacted United after the match to 'acknowledge what we deem is an error of judgement', and that the incident is set to be reviewed.

Ex-Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher also told talkSPORT on Sunday evening that he 'couldn't believe' offside wasn't given.

The controversy has reignited questions over whether or not VAR should remain in the Premier League.

talkSPORT's Adrian Durham has claimed that it makes referees 'look stupid' and is a 'stain on the game'.

Haaland's goal is one of the most contentious decisions involving VAR since its introduction into the Premier League in the 2019/20 season, with former manager Steve Bruce calling it the 'worst' he has seen.

Arguably the most notable error came in September 2023 when Luis Diaz had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside.

The Liverpool forward scored during the first half of their 2-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur and replays showed him in an onside position.

However, a 'significant human error' from the officials meant the goal did not stand, with the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Board) calling it 'a clear and obvious factual error'.

Wolves submitted a proposal calling for the removal of VAR in 2024, but Premier League clubs voted 19-1 to keep it.

Read the original

People in this story

Related