Rooney and Neville insist VAR got it wrong as Haaland's derby winner sparks offside row

Erling Haaland’s 60th-minute strike secured a 1-0 Manchester derby victory for 10-man Manchester City on Sunday, but the VAR ruling that allowed the goal to stand has ignited a fierce debate over the laws of the game, with Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville among the most prominent voices questioning the decision.

City had been reduced to 10 men when Phil Foden received a straight red card for kicking Bruno Fernandes in the midriff midway through the first half. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Enzo Maresca’s side took the lead when Haaland converted — a goal initially ruled out for offside before VAR intervened and overturned the call, determining that a touch from Patrick Dorgu had played the City striker onside.

The controversy centred on Enzo Fernandez, who was clearly in an offside position and appeared to make a run towards Josko Gvardiol’s cross. Critics argued his movement directly affected Lisandro Martinez’s ability to track Haaland. Rooney, speaking on Match of the Day, was unequivocal: “Surely it’s offside. Martinez is impacted by Enzo’s movement, and he is offside.”

Neville echoed that view during commentary, saying: “We’re going to have one more look at this goal — does Fernandez put off Martinez? I do think when they look back at this they’ll realise they’ve got it wrong.” He went further as the match wore on, predicting consequences for the officials: “There is no doubt that Enzo is attempting to play the ball and putting Lisandro Martinez off. It’s a really strange one. They’ll recognise they got that wrong.”

The Premier League Match Centre pushed back on that interpretation, posting on X that VAR had reviewed the incident and was satisfied Fernandez did not play the ball — and that, under the current laws, not playing the ball was sufficient grounds to disregard his offside position. “VAR checked the referee’s call of no goal for offside and determined that Haaland was in an onside position and recommended that the goal was awarded. The VAR also deemed that while in an offside position, Fernandez didn’t play the ball.”

The ruling hinges on a distinction in the offside law between a player who physically touches the ball and one who merely attempts to reach it — a line that Rooney and Neville believe was crossed by Fernandez’s run. The debate is likely to persist, with Manchester United left to rue a derby defeat in which they faced a City side a man light for more than an hour.