VAR official Matt Donohue has been left without a Premier League appointment this weekend following the controversial decision to award Manchester City a disputed goal against Manchester United. During Sunday’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford, Donohue, together with assistant VAR Blake Antrobus, was a part of the review that overturned the offside call on the field.
The intervention meant that Erling Haaland’s goal stood seeing Patrick Dorgu’s position was found to be onside. But the moment was immediately called into question as City’s Enzo Fernandez looked to be in an offside position attacking the opposition. His bid for possession looked to have had an impact on United defender Lisandro Martinez and the United goalkeeper Senne Lammens, prompting speculation that he had fouled. Haaland was originally ruled offside but the VAR review determined that Dorgu had kept the striker in a legal position.
The decision was overturned, which raised questions about the definition of interference and the level of intervention needed from the VARs. Donohue’s error of judgement has reportedly been recognised by him and he won’t be accepting a VAR position in the Premier League on Saturday. Antrobus also served on the review board. The move follows a period in which refereeing standards and consistency of VARs have been under great pressure in English football.
Ultimately, officials are expected to be more precise in making decisions whether an offside player has materially affected an opponent or the outcome of a play. The incident was another controversial one in a derby for Manchester United in which the teams played with a lot of close calls. The outcome of the City’s goal was undeniable, but the consequences of the critique have reverberated beyond the final whistle. The Premier League’s efforts to keep VAR decision-making consistent, therefore, will be closely watched over the weekend.
