Maresca fires back at United's VAR fury: City still waiting for 2022 derby apology

Enzo Maresca turned the tables on Manchester United’s anger over Sunday’s controversial Manchester derby goal, revealing that Manchester City are still waiting for an apology over a near-identical offside incident from a fixture three years ago.

United were left furious after Erling Haaland’s goal was allowed to stand despite VAR officials failing to flag Enzo Fernandez for interfering with play from an offside position. Professional Referees Organisation chief Howard Webb apologised to United the same day and has since elaborated on why the goal should have been disallowed, with the officials involved stood down from duties for a month.

Maresca, however, had little patience for the ensuing debate. He pointed to a near-identical moment from a derby three years earlier, when Marcus Rashford was adjudged to have been in an offside position as Bruno Fernandes scored a goal that stood — a decision City say they have never received any formal acknowledgement over.

“Three years ago when I was here it happened exactly the same against Man United. We lost the derby there,” Maresca said. “The goal was not a regular goal. To be honest, no-one apologised. We are still waiting for an apology for that goal. Sometimes it happens for you, sometimes against you. It’s football.”

The City manager was also keen to redirect attention toward his side’s performance on the day, particularly given they were reduced to ten men for the majority of the match after losing Phil Foden.

“I’m pleased with the unbelievable performance from the players on Sunday. I’m very pleased with that,” he said. “Talking about one episode or one moment after that game, when we played for 70-75 minutes with 10 players, I think it’s quite poor. The performance was unbelievable.”

Maresca’s comments add a fresh dimension to the post-derby fallout, shifting the conversation from a single refereeing error to a broader pattern of inconsistency that, in his view, has not always been acknowledged equally across both clubs.