Premier League panel backs Foden red card but admits VAR goal error cost Manchester United

The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel has backed referee Michael Oliver’s decision to send off Phil Foden in the Manchester derby, while unanimously concluding that the VAR intervention which awarded Manchester City their winning goal was incorrect.

Foden was dismissed in the 22nd minute for violent conduct after kicking out at Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes. Three of the five panel members supported the red card, with the remaining two arguing that Foden’s actions lacked the force required to meet the threshold for violent conduct — though all five agreed that VAR official Craig Pawson was correct to intervene and uphold the on-field decision.

The panel also found that Fernandes himself should have been cautioned for his role in the altercation, but unanimously supported Oliver’s decision not to show the United captain a red card.

On the match’s most consequential call, the panel were unambiguous. They determined that Enzo Fernandez was offside and in a position that affected the ability of Lisandro Martinez and Senne Lammens to play the ball, meaning City’s winning goal should not have stood. The panel concluded that a VAR review should have been recommended for a missed subjective offside.

Pro Ref had already acknowledged the mistake in the hours following the final whistle, with a spokesperson stating that “the VAR did not recognise the likely impact of [Fernandez’s] position and should have recommended an on-field review.” The body also contacted United directly to acknowledge what it described as “an error of judgement.”

Pro Ref chief Howard Webb subsequently confirmed on his Mic’d Up programme that the goal should have been disallowed. “I was really disappointed with this outcome; we all were,” Webb said, adding that he felt it was important to publicly acknowledge the mistake.

Elsewhere in the panel’s review of the derby, all five members supported Oliver’s decision not to award United a penalty in the 22nd minute after Enzo Fernandez challenged Youri Tielemans, determining that Fernandez had won the ball cleanly.

Foden’s dismissal was the only on-field decision across the entire fourth gameweek of the Premier League season to split the panel 3–2, underscoring just how fine the margins were in a match whose outcome now carries an asterisk.