Howard Webb personally called Man United twice to apologise for Derby VAR error

Howard Webb personally telephoned two Manchester United officials to acknowledge the refereeing error that cost the club in the Manchester Derby, the PGMOL chief has confirmed. United lost 1-0 to City after Erling Haaland’s second-half goal was controversially allowed to stand by VAR, despite Enzo Fernandez — who was in an offside position — appearing to interfere with play.

Speaking to The Times, Webb said he called director of football Jason Wilcox and club secretary Rebecca Britain directly. “I called Jason Wilcox and Rebecca, acknowledging the error,” he said. “People talk about apologies. We don’t often apologise but I did that one because the error was so impactful — and it wasn’t a judgment call.”

Webb had already described the decision as a “significant error” in the immediate aftermath of the game, when Pro Ref confirmed it had been in contact with United to admit an “error of judgement”. His revelation of two personal calls goes further than the initial disclosure.

To explain how the officials missed what appeared to be an obvious infringement, Webb referenced the psychological concept of inattentional blindness — the tendency to overlook unexpected stimuli when attention is focused elsewhere. “It’s like the gorilla,” he said, alluding to a well-known experiment in which participants fail to notice a person in a gorilla suit walking through a scene. “The gorilla banging his chest when the kids are playing basketball, hiding in plain sight. Someone had to say, ‘Look at the gorilla banging his chest!’ Which gorilla? Oh, that one.”

Michael Oliver was the on-field referee for the match, with Matt Donohue operating as VAR and Blake Antrobus as assistant VAR. Following the decision, Pro Ref’s external consultant Inaki Vicandi Garrido reportedly reviewed the incident and interviewed all officials involved. A video call with all Pro Ref match officials was subsequently held ahead of the next round of Premier League fixtures, followed by an in-person meeting at which the incident was reviewed in detail.

The Haaland goal was not the only flashpoint in the Derby. City’s Phil Foden was sent off in the first half after kicking out at United captain Bruno Fernandes, though the incident also drew scrutiny of Fernandes himself, who appeared to swipe at Foden before the City forward reacted.