The decision was made to allow what ended up being Manchester City’s winning goal in Sunday’s game at Old Trafford. Michael Regan/Getty Images
Matt Donohue, the video assistant referee (VAR) who oversaw the process which incorrectly allowed Erling Haaland’s goal in the Manchester derby, has not been selected to officiate in the Premier League this coming weekend.
Assistant VAR Blake Antrobus will also not be involved after Pro Ref, English football’s refereeing body, said after the game that an “error of judgement” had been made when applying VAR to the only goal of the game in Manchester City’s win at Old Trafford.
Donohue, the lead VAR official for the incident, has not been appointed for next weekend’s Premier League fixture list. It will be the first matchday this season in which the 37-year-old will not be involved, having also worked as VAR for Brighton & Hove Albion’s opening-day win over Aston Villa, Sunderland’s defeat of Fulham and Newcastle United’s draw with Bournemouth.
Donohue is not involved in this midweek round of Carabao Cup action.
The decision was made by Pro Ref’s chief refereeing officer Howard Webb and the body’s management team and means neither will officiate until at least after the upcoming international break
Fernandez was in an offside position in the lead-up to the goal (Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Haaland’s goal was initially disallowed for offside as the Norwegian striker appeared to be ahead of Manchester United full-back Patrick Dorgu, while midfielder Enzo Fernandez was lunging towards the cross from an offside position — but this decision was overturned by the VAR.
A spokesperson for English football’s refereeing body said on Sunday evening following the match that the VAR “did not recognise the likely impact of his (Fernandez’s) position and should have recommended an on-field review”.
The Pro Ref statement added: “Contact has been made with Manchester United to acknowledge what we deem is an error of judgement. A review of the incident will take place.”
The rules of the Premier League state that “a player will be penalised if they are clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent”. Fernandez was being marked at the time by United defender Lisandro Martinez, who in turn had left Haaland free at the back post.
During the match, the Premier League match centre said: “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.”
Sep 14, 2026
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