Conspiracy theories circulate as VAR on derby-day goal linked to bizarre Man United red card last season | OneFootball

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Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday, 13 September was shrouded in controversy. The first talking point of the game arrived in the 23rd minute, when City’s Phil Foden was shown a straight red card for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes.

With a man advantage and the backing of the home crowd, the Red Devils were expected to run away with the game. Unfortunately, Michael Carrick’s team failed to capitalise and ended up paying the price.

In the 60th minute, City took the lead when Josko Gvardiol’s cross found Erling Haaland, who made no mistake. While the goal was initially ruled out due to offside by the on-pitch officials, the decision was overruled by VAR, much to the surprise of the home crowd.

The visitors held on to their narrow advantage and went on to secure all three points. However, the VAR incident turned out to be a major talking point from the game.

United undone by VAR

During the buildup to the goal, it was clear that Enzo Fernandez was offside when the ball left Gvardiol’s feet, while Haaland also looked offside to the naked eye. Fernandez dived in a bid to reach the ball and missed it, before the ball fell to the Norwegian.

The former Chelsea midfielder was adjudged to have not interfered with the play by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Matthew Donohue. However, replays showed that Lisandro Martinez had been forced to pay attention to his countryman during that passage of play, allowing Haaland to remain free at the back post.

That appeared to indicate that Fernandez did interfere with play, suggesting that Haaland’s goal should not have stood. The professional referee’s body has since issued an apology to United, acknowledging that the VAR got the decision wrong during the game.

Donohue’s involvement in another controversy surrounding United last season has now resurfaced and that will certainly leave fans feeling agitated.

Donohue’s involvement in Harry Maguire’s red card

United were leading 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium in March this year when Harry Maguire brought down Evanilson in the 78th minute. The Englishman was shown a straight red card, and Bournemouth scored from the penalty to secure a point.

Maguire was initially handed a one-match ban, but Donohue, who was the fourth official for that game, told an independent commission that the player used abusive words towards the officials while walking off. In the report published by the Football Association explaining Maguire’s ban, Donohue had stated that Maguire had approached him and shouted: “You’re a joke. You’re all a f—— joke.”

While the player subsequently denied directing such expletives towards the officials, Donohue was convinced he had done so and that those words were directed at the officials. As a result, Maguire’s one-match ban was extended by another game.

The English defender revealed that he had been extremely frustrated by his red card and the penalty decision. Maguire had also acknowledged that he had behaved inappropriately and had apologised, ultimately escaping a lengthier ban and a heftier fine.

Final Thoughts

The Guardian reports that Donohue has been stood down following his error and will not be involved in the upcoming weekend’s Premier League games. However, that will be of little consolation to United, as the game could have ended entirely differently had VAR correctly chalked off Haaland’s goal.