Referees must face punishment for Man Utd derby error, says Bothroyd after Pro Ref admission

Pro Ref, the elite officiating body, has acknowledged that VAR made an error of judgement when allowing Erling Haaland’s 60th-minute winner to stand in Manchester City’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, with former England international Jay Bothroyd now calling for those responsible to face formal punishment.

The controversy centred on Enzo Fernandez, who was in an offside position as he attempted to head the ball in the build-up to Haaland’s goal. Fernandez missed the ball, and the goal was allowed to stand — but Pro Ref subsequently confirmed that the VAR should have recommended an on-field review, given Fernandez’s likely impact on play.

In a statement, Pro Ref said: “The on-field decision was offside against Haaland — that was checked by VAR and he was found to be in an onside position. In the same attack, it was established that Fernández did not play the ball and therefore that makes any offside offence subjective. However, on this occasion, the VAR did not recognise the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review. Contact has been made with Manchester United this evening to acknowledge what we deem is an error of judgement.”

Ex-Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher suggested on Sky Sports’ Referee Watch that the officials may have “lost focus” during their review. “They focused on one element of the law and diverted them from it,” Gallagher said. “When he dives for the ball, they’ve looked at Haaland and it’s ‘Has Fernandez headed the ball’? Because they’ve looked so long at that and for some reason, they’ve lost focus. He’s impacted two people.”

When asked what punishment the officials might face, Gallagher indicated the process was handled internally, adding: “When I was a referee, we used to beat ourselves up. I learned that, ‘that’s happened’ — it’s unfortunate. It’s really unfortunate but you can’t change that.”

Bothroyd was unconvinced by that response. “To me that’s unacceptable, you can’t lose focus,” he said. “They’re not under pressure — they’re in a room. Saying sorry, that’s not good enough. Michael Carrick is under pressure now. He could lose his job because of a bad decision, ‘sorry, Michael, we made a mistake’.”

The result leaves Manchester United’s season under further scrutiny, with the defeat compounding pressure on the club’s management. City, meanwhile, claimed all three points from a fixture that will remain contentious long after the final whistle.