Michael Carrick was asked about Pro Ref's apology following VAR's mistake in the Manchester derby last weekend.
VAR got Erling Haaland's goal wrong in the derby.(Image: 2026 Getty Images)
View Image
Manchester United boss Michael Carrick wants to move on from VAR's blunder after Erling Haaland's goal was allowed to stand in the Manchester derby, but he admitted the mistake was "particularly tough" to take.
Refereeing body Pro Ref admitted an "error of judgment" in awarding City's winner at Old Trafford. Enzo Fernandez was interfering with play from an offside position, and Pro Ref conceded they "should have recommended an on-field review".
United's derby defeat was followed by a 3-2 loss against Brighton in the Carabao Cup third round, which increased pressure on Carrick's position, but he spoke of the importance of moving on from the VAR controversy.
While Carrick remains frustrated with VAR's decision in the derby, he said he still has faith in the system. "Listen, one-off things can happen, at the time it was a pretty big one, we know that, I don't think I need to go over that," he said.
"But yeah, I've got faith in it, of course, you know, it's the system that we work towards and that we use, so the apology doesn't mean an awful lot. I can appreciate and I respect it for them putting their hands up and saying we got that wrong, I think it happens, it does happen.
"Moving forward, yeah, we just have to deal with it, what's thrown in front of us, and maybe we get one or two decisions on the back of how it balances out percentages or law of averages or whatever that may be, but that was a pretty big one to take and had a huge impact on that game and that's why it was particularly tough."
Carrick has spoken about fine margins going against United over the last few weeks, so it was put to him that such mistakes from VAR could be costly and have a massive impact on the season.
Article continues below
"It can have an impact in the moment of time," he responded. "It can have a big impact, but we can't let it have an impact on the rest of the season, that's for us to get back to winning ways as soon as possible."
United took no further action with Pro Ref despite remaining hugely frustrated by the situation. Club chiefs appreciated the effort Pro Ref made to apologise and explain the mistake in the aftermath of the game.