Controversial Manchester derby lands VAR officials in hot water | OneFootball

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The video assistant referee for the Manchester derby, Matt Donohue and his assistant VAR, Blake Antrobus, have paid their price for their role in Manchester City’s controversial victory on Sunday.

Controversy

United suffered their second loss of the Premier League season on Sunday, a 1-0 defeat to City.

The Red Devils played with a one-man advantage for large sections of the game after Phil Foden was sent off in the 23rd minute for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes.

United dominated and created multiple chances to score but they were unable to break down City’s stubborn and compact defensive unit.

It was City, against the run of play, who broke the deadlock. Erling Haaland slid in to tap home a cross from Josko Gvardiol. Initially, the Norwegian was ruled offside. However, VAR got involved and ratified the goal after a lengthy check.

Haaland was judged to have been onside but VAR failed to account for Enzo Fernandez’s attempt to play the ball. Fernandez was clearly onside. Speaking after the final whistle, Michael Carrick branded the refereeing standards “worrying” and “staggering.”

Lisandro Martinez stressed that United had suffered an “injustice.”

Refereeing body Ref Pro released a statement confirming that VAR had made an error of judgement and that Haaland’s goal should not have stood. Ref Pro said that they had reached out to United over the matter.

Now, it has emerged that Donohue and Antrobus have been sidelined from this weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures.

Punished

The Guardian reports that Donohue and Antrobus have been informed by Pro Ref that they have been stood down from this weekend’s matches.

The news outlet states, “Howard Webb, the chief ­refereeing officer, took the decision with his management team after a review of the weekend’s action.”

“Their availa­bility will be reconsidered after the international break.”

It’s the first time this term that officials have been made to stand down due to an error.