Manchester United legend Gary Neville was furious at the decision to allow Erling Haaland to score the winning goal at Old Trafford on Sunday, highlighting an issue with FIFA’s recent legal changes.
Professional referees issued a statement on Sunday night admitting that Haaland’s second-half goal was disallowed due to an “error of judgement”.
VAR Matt Donoghue deemed Haaland was offside by defender Patrick Dolgu and Lisandro Martinez was untouched by Enzo Fernandez’s diving header attempt, which was in an offside position, and the refereeing body has contacted United to apologize.
A Professional Referees spokesman said: “It has been established that Enzo Fernandez did not kick the ball and therefore any offside call would be subjective, however, in this case VAR was not aware of the impact his position could have had and an on-field review should have been recommended.”
IFAB Rule 11: A player who is in an offside position when the ball is kicked out or touched by a teammate will only be subject to the following penalties when participating in active play:
Interfering with play by playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a teammate, or
Interfere with your opponent by:
Preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play by significantly obstructing the opponent’s view of the ball, or
Challenge an opponent’s possession of the ball or
When the action affects an opponent, it is an obvious attempt to hit the ball at close range, or
Make obvious moves that significantly affect your opponent’s ability to play
Gary Neville highlights semi-automatic offside issue
When discussing the incident after the game, Neville was unsurprisingly angry, but he also highlighted another factor that added to the frustration of the decision, criticizing the “30 or 40 seconds” that everyone was kept in the dark as the semi-automatic offside footage was not immediately available.
The semi-automatic check on Haaland’s position against Dolgu was not shown until minutes after the goal, meaning commentators and fans were left speculating about what the officials were actually checking during the incident.
“Then we found out through the automatic offside and we don’t see that anymore and I have to say I was pretty angry about it,” he said during the game. Gary Neville Podcast.
“FIFA started doing this during the World Cup, where we stopped putting lines on the pitch and on the cameras so the fans at home and us could see if Haaland was offside. We all imagined Haaland was offside because we were just looking at the camera and he looked offside.
“So we still imagine that Haaland is offside, but Dolgu’s feet are kind of in line, but what don’t we show everyone? PGMOL, the professional referees, why don’t they immediately show automatic offside to show that Haaland is already in position.”
According to FIFA’s own explanation of the semi-automatic offside technology, decisions may take some time to show up, as it takes time to produce 3D graphics for TV viewers.
“After the referee confirmed the decision on the pitch,and then generate a 3D animation of the exact same location data points used to make the decision Perfectly describes the position of a player’s limbs when hitting the ball. “
A report in The Telegraph in February said Premier League referees were growing increasingly frustrated with the technology and urging clubs to consider changing suppliers after a five-minute delay due to an offside call in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg between Newcastle United and Manchester City.
These issues are likely to be in the spotlight again after Sunday’s controversy, but United’s performance against ten men may be more worrying for Red Devils fans.
Carrick squandered opportunity
Michael Carrick’s side had a golden opportunity after Phil Foden was sent off in the first half for a violent act on Bruno Fernandes. The Portugal international appeared to be the instigator of the incident but Foden left Michael Oliver no choice and kicked his foot upwards into the midsection of the Manchester United captain.
“For me, Bruno is the violent one here,” Roy Keane told Sky Sports. “I have to speak out. I called Kyle Walker out a few years ago when he was headbutted to the ground. Look, I think, we look at violence in a different way. But I don’t think it’s a red card for Foden.”
However, the home side’s expected goals figure was just 0.04 after the England international was sent off in the 23rd minute.
It leaves Carrick with four points from four games against two teams that almost qualified and raises questions about whether Ineos have provided their manager with enough reinforcements in the summer, particularly at full-back where Dolgu and Diogo Dalot offered no threat in attack on Sunday.