Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Erling Haaland's winning goal in the Manchester derby has been one of the biggest talking points of the 2026/27 Premier League season so far.
After Manchester City were reduced to ten men, following a red card for Phil Foden for kicking out against Bruno Fernandes, City would go on to win the game at Old Trafford courtesy of a Haaland strike on the hour mark.
But it should not have been awarded, according to Pro Ref, who apologised to United in the aftermath of the incident, and now the Premier League's Key Match Incidents Panel have agreed with a unanimous vote.
Haaland himself initially looked offside when connecting with Josko Gvardiol's ball across the box, but VAR concluded that, while it was tight, he was actually onside. And the long deliberation over the offside call may have taken their thought process away from what else happened.
In front of Haaland, Enzo Fernandez tried to get on the end of the Gvardiol delivery into the box, missing the ball completely with a diving header. The new City signing was in an offside position when the ball was played and took the attention of United defender Lisandro Martinez.
The Argentinian was clearly interfering with play and the goal should have been ruled out. A Pro Ref statement said afterwards: "The on-field decision was offside against Erling Haaland - that was checked by VAR and he was found to be in an onside position.
"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.
The Premier League's KMI Panel meet to discuss incidents on a weekly basis and they have delivered a full and final unanimous verdict on the goal that was given.
The on-field decision by Michael Oliver was deemed to be incorrect, with the VAR intervention also described as incorrect by a vote of five to zero.
KMI decisions are decided by a panel of five, consisting of a Premier League representative, a PGMOL representative and three independent (ex-players/managers) representatives.
Their statement read: "The panel unanimously felt that the VAR intervention to award the goal was incorrect. Fernandez is in an offside position, attempts to play the ball that is close to him, and impacts the ability of the defender and the goalkeeper to play the ball in the process. A VAR review should have been recommended for a missed subjective offside in the attacking possession phase."