Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick must navigate the worst refereeing mistake during his time in charge to date.
While there were several refereeing errors affecting Manchester United in 2025/26, none were particularly costly for Michael Carrick. Just four league games into 2026/27, major damage has been inflicted.
City’s 1-0 win at Old Trafford was enabled by VAR, which incorrectly intervened to award Erling Haaland’s goal. United received an apology within hours, which was totally worthless.
How Michael Carrick deals with the incident will be an interesting test. He must strike the balance between using this injustice as motivational fuel, and letting it seep into an unhealthy obsession.
After the game he struck the right tone by expressing his disdain for the decision, also accepting there were some flaws in United’s own performance.
During his long and successful reign at United, former manager Sir Alex Ferguson had to deal with poor referee and linesman decisions too.
Here is a look at how Fergie responded to the three worst calls of his tenure…
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Paul Scholes goal ruled offside in 2004
Manchester United were eliminated from the Champions League in 2004 after a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Porto, clinched via a late goal.
United had been heading through on away goals before a late strike sealed our fate. United had led 1-0 on the night after a 2-1 away loss, but thought they had gone 2-0 up at half-time.
After the match, Ferguson expressed disbelief, but generally took the elimination well, focusing attention on a desire to win another trophy. The team won the FA Cup three months later.
Ferguson said: “I couldn’t believe it when Scholes’ second goal was ruled offside. There were three men playing him onside.
“Scholes’ goal would have put us into a very, very comfortable position at 2-0 up, but then that’s football.
“The linesman didn’t do his job, but it’s one of those things. We looked very solid but now we have to accept it and bounce back.”
The disallowed goal ended up changing Sir Alex Ferguson’s legacy – he adopted an aggressive transfer policy the following summer, axing mainstay Nicky Butt and signing future superstar Wayne Rooney.
Manchester United v Chelsea - Premier League
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Didier Drogba offside goal given in 2010
The most costly wrong decision in the Premier League under Sir Alex Ferguson was Didier Drogba’s offside goal against Manchester United in 2010.
Chelsea won the Premier League by one point over United, with Drogba scoring the winner in a 2-1 late season away victory at Old Trafford. The goal directly influenced the title swing, and prevented United from winning it for a fourth season in a row.
Drogba was standing in a clearly offside position by a yard or so, but there was no changing the linesman’s mind.
Ferguson hit out after the decision, blaming the officials for lacking quality in their roles and also taking a pop at referee Mike Dean.
He blasted: “What I can’t understand is the linesman’s directly in front of it. He has no one near him and he gets it wrong.”
“A game of that magnitude, you really need quality officials and we didn’t get them today. It was a poor, poor performance.”
“When I saw Mike Dean I did worry, I must admit.”
Nani wrongful red card 2013
The decision that angered Sir Alex Ferguson the most at Manchester United was the call to send Nani off in a Champions League decider at home to Real Madrid in 2013.
United led the game 1-0 before the game was changed when Nani was shown a straight red card for a high boot. It was a decision that usually generates a yellow card at most. Referee Cüneyt Çakır had other ideas.
Madrid went on to win the game 2-1 and eliminate United. Unbeknown to everybody at the time, this was Ferguson’s final Champions League match.
Ferguson was so irate after the game that he did not speak. Assistant boss Mike Phelan was sent out to deal with media duties.
Phelan said: “The manager is not in a fit state to talk to the referee about the decision. It speaks volumes that I am sat here.”
“We are all witnesses to a decision that seemed very harsh, and incredible at that moment in the game.”
“To say we are disappointed is an understatement. We felt as though we had got things right tactically and were reasonably comfortable… That amazing decision changed things totally.”