Manchester United were left feeling hard done by after a controversial VAR call at the weekend and one of the officials involved was in Harry Maguire's bad books earlier this year
Erling Haaland scores for Man City against Man Utd
Erling Haaland's winning goal in the Manchester derby was given by VAR(Image: Getty)
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Manchester United were left furious this weekend when VAR intervened to allow an offside goal scored by Erling Haaland to stand, costing them victory in the Manchester derby.
Matt Donohue, the VAR official from the game, and his assistant have since been stood down from duty this weekend by Pro Ref, who issued an apology to United after Enzo Fernandez was ruled to have not played the ball despite attempting to reach Josko Gvardiol's cross while in an offside position.
As the fallout from Sunday's derby continues, a previous outburst from Harry Maguire directed at Donohue has resurfaced.
Back in March, he and his colleagues were branded a "f****** joke" by the central defender while operating as fourth official in Manchester United's 2-2 draw away at Bournemouth.
Maguire was sent off for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity on the south coast. Bournemouth were awarded a penalty for the offence with Maguire deemed to have pulled down Evanilson inside the penalty area.
That outburst earned Maguire an additional one match ban after Donohue shared the offensive remarks with an independent regulatory commission, claiming that Maguire said them as he left the field.
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - MARCH 20: Harry Maguire of Manchester United reacts as he is sent off after being shown a Red card during the Premier League match between Bournemouth and Manchester United at Vitality Stadium on March 20, 2026 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
Harry Maguire was furious at the match officials, including Matt Donohue, after being sent off vs Bournemouth back in March(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
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Haaland's goal was originally ruled offside, only for VAR to intervene and overturn the decision. It quickly sparked a huge debate online with numerous pundits, including Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney, suggesting the VAR officials had got the call wrong.
An apology was issued just hours after the game, which Manchester City won 1-0. It read: "Following the incident in the 60th minute of Sunday's Premier League fixture between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford, we can provide clarification regarding Erling Haaland's awarded goal.
"The on-field decision was offside against Erling Haaland - that was checked by VAR and he was found to be in an onside position.
Matt Donahue refereeing during an EFL game
Donahue has been stood down from duty this weekend(Image: Alex Dodd/CameraSport)
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"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."
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