Manchester Derby VAR Officials Sidelined After Controversial Haaland Goal

Matt Donohue, the Video Assistant Referee involved in Sunday’s Premier League clash between Manchester City and Manchester United, has not been assigned to any match in the next round of league fixtures following controversy over Erling Haaland’s decisive goal.

Assistant VAR Blake Antrobus, who was also part of the officiating team for the Manchester derby, has similarly been left without an assignment for the upcoming set of matches.

Reuters reported that chief refereeing officer Howard Webb and the management team made the decision. Neither Donohue nor Antrobus is expected to return to officiating duties until at least after the international break.

The move follows scrutiny over a VAR decision during the Manchester derby, with Haaland’s goal in the 60th minute allowed to stand despite an offside-related incident in the build-up.

Enzo Fernandez was in an offside position during the sequence leading to the Manchester City striker’s goal and was deemed to have interfered with play. However, the VAR did not intervene to overturn the goal, allowing City’s effort to remain on the scoreboard.

The incident quickly became the major refereeing talking point from the derby, particularly because Haaland’s strike proved decisive.

Pro Ref, the body responsible for officiating in the Premier League, subsequently acknowledged that the decision was incorrect. In a statement issued after the match, the organisation admitted that the VAR should not have allowed Haaland’s goal to stand because of the offside interference in the build-up.

The admission increased attention on the officials responsible for reviewing the incident and raised questions over whether they would continue to receive Premier League assignments immediately after the error.

The latest fixture appointments have now provided an indication of the response, with both Donohue and Antrobus absent from the next round of games.

Their omission does not appear to be a brief one. According to the Reuters report, the two officials are expected to remain away from duty through the upcoming international break.

The controversy once again puts VAR decision-making under the spotlight in the Premier League, with the officiating body having publicly accepted that an incorrect call had a direct impact on a decisive goal in one of the competition’s biggest fixtures.