Pro Ref has acknowledged that Erling Haaland's winning goal for Manchester City against Manchester United — which sealed a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford on Sunday — should not have stood, describing the VAR decision as an "error of judgement."

Haaland's back-post finish in the 60th minute was initially ruled out for offside on the pitch, only for VAR to overturn the call after determining that Manchester United defender Patrick Dorgu had played the Norwegian striker onside.

The offside that VAR missed

What the review failed to account for was the position of Manchester City midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who was in an offside position and appeared to challenge for the ball before it reached Haaland. Although Fernandez did not make contact with the ball, his movement had a clear impact on Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez's ability to track Haaland's run.

Under the laws of the game, a player can be penalised for offside without touching the ball if their movement clearly interferes with an opponent. Pro Ref admitted the VAR officials did not consider this and should have called for an on-field review.

In a statement, a Pro Ref spokesperson said: "In the same attack, it was established that Enzo Fernandez 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. A review of the incident will take place."

Pundits unanimous in their criticism

Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards was unequivocal in his condemnation of the decision. When asked whether Fernandez was clearly attempting to play the ball, Richards told Sky Sports: "One hundred per cent he is. I think it's been a bad day for referees and VAR. They got the Phil Foden decision wrong, and they got this decision wrong. How you can not say Enzo Fernandez is challenging for the ball — of course he is!"

Richards added that even the slightest movement from an attacker in that position is enough to affect a defender's read of the situation, insisting the officials "got it so wrong."

Roy Keane was equally damning, arguing that Manchester United were effectively punished for defending well. "Fernandez is interfering with play," Keane said. "Basically, United have been punished for holding a good line. Their line is good. Fernandez is offside, and he goes to play the ball, so United are getting punished for good defending."

What the Premier League Match Centre said

The Premier League Match Centre had initially defended the award of the goal in a post on X, stating that VAR found Haaland to be onside and that Fernandez had not played the ball. That explanation drew immediate criticism, given that the offside laws do not require a player to touch the ball in order to be penalised for interfering with an opponent's ability to defend.

Pro Ref's admission that a review will take place is unlikely to offer Manchester United any remedy to the result, but it does represent a rare public acknowledgement that the officials made a consequential mistake in a Premier League fixture.