TV pundit Gary Neville before the match
Manchester United legend Gary Neville was left furious by the decision to allow Erling Haaland's winning goal at Old Trafford on Sunday, highlighting an issue with FIFA's recent law changes.
Pro Ref released a statement on Sunday evening admitting Haaland's second-half strike was awarded due to an 'error of judgement'.
REUTERS/Scott Heppell
The refereeing body have contacted United to apologise after VAR Matt Donohue deemed that Haaland was played onside by defender Patrick Dorgu and that Lisandro Martinez was not influenced by the diving header attempt of Enzo Fernandez, who was in an offside position.
"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," a Pro Ref spokesperson said.
IFAB Law 11: A player in an offside position at the moment the ball is played or touched by a team-mate is only penalised on becoming involved in active play by:
interfering with play by playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate or
interfering with an opponent by:preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or
challenging an opponent for the ball or
clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent or
making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball
Gary Neville highlights issue with semi-automated offsides
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Neville was unsurprisingly furious when discussing the incident after the match, but also highlighted another factor that increased the frustration surrounding the decision, criticising the "30 or 40 seconds" where everyone is left in the dark due to the semi-automated offside footage not being immediately available.
The semi-automated check on Haaland's position against Dorgu was not shown until several minutes after the goal was awarded, meaning commentators and fans alike were left guessing what the officials were actually checking during the incident.
"We then find out through the automated offside, which we don't see anymore, and I have to say, I am absolutely fuming with this," he said during The Gary Neville podcast.
"FIFA started it during the World Cup, we're not putting the lines in anymore on the pitch and the camera anymore so the fans at home and we can see if Haaland is offside. We all imagine Haaland is offside because we're just looking at the camera and he looks offside.
REUTERS/Scott Heppell
"So we're still imagining that Haaland is offside, but Dorgu's foot is then sort of in line, but what don't we just show everybody? The PGMOL, Pro Ref, why are they not showing that automated offside straight away to say okay Haaland is onside."
According to FIFA's own laws introduced along with the semi-automated offside technology, decisions can take time to show because the 3D graphic takes time to be generated for a television audience.
"After the decision has been confirmed by the referee on the pitch, the exact same positional data points that were used to make the decision are then generated into a 3D animation that perfectly details the position of the players' limbs at the moment the ball was played."
A report from The Telegraph back in February reported that Premier League referees were growing frustrated with the technology and urging clubs to consider switching providers following a five-minute delay for an offside call in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final between Newcastle and Man City.
Those issues are likely to come under the spotlight again following Sunday's controversy, but United's performance against ten men may be of even more concern to Red Devils fans.
Wasted opportunity for Carrick
REUTERS/Phil Noble
Michael Carrick's side were handed the opportunity of a lifetime after Phil Foden was sent off in the first-half for an act of violent conduct against Bruno Fernandes. The Portugal international appeared to initiate the incident, but Foden left Michael Oliver no choice as he flicked his feet upwards towards the United captain's stomach.
“To me, Bruno is the one who's violent here," Roy Keane said during Sky Sports' coverage. "I have to call it out. I called Kyle Walker out a few years ago when he went down with a headbutt. Listen, we see violence, I suppose, in a different way. But I don't think that's a red card for Foden.”
However, the hosts created just 0.04 expected goals on target following the England international's dismissal in the 23rd minute.
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It leaves Carrick with four points from four games in which they have played two nearly promoted sides, and asks questions over whether INEOS did enough to back their manager with reinforcements in the summer, particularly in the full-back position, where Dorgu and Diogo Dalot offered nothing in the way of attacking threat on Sunday.