VAR chief admits officials had tunnel vision on Haaland goal

Tunnel Vision Cost Manchester United

Premier League refereeing chief Howard Webb has admitted that video assistant referee Matt Donohue suffered from severe tunnel vision when reviewing Erling Haaland’s controversial winner in Sunday’s Manchester derby. Speaking on the inaugural ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’ episode of the season, Webb revealed that the VAR team never even considered whether Enzo Fernandez was in an offside position during the buildup to the goal.

The issue wasn’t that officials disagreed about Fernandez’s positioning, they simply never looked at it. Webb described the oversight as one where Donohue “gets super-focused on Haaland” and established he was onside before moving on, without truly evaluating the full impact of Fernandez’s position in the play.

How the Error Unfolded

Manchester City’s 1-0 victory at Old Trafford hinged entirely on this moment in the 60th minute. Haaland appeared to score, but referee Michael Oliver initially disallowed it for offside. When VAR reviewed the decision, semi-automated offside technology showed Haaland was just three centimetres onside from Josko Gvardiol’s cross. The problem came next.

Video officials only checked whether Fernandez touched the ball, which would have created a new offside phase. They confirmed no touch occurred and immediately recommended the goal stand. What they failed to assess was whether Fernandez, who was diving at the ball in a central position, was himself in an offside position while interfering with play.

Former England striker Wayne Rooney summed it up bluntly on Match of the Day: “To not see that and recognise that Enzo Fernandez was in an offside position… anyone who has played the game at any level understands that and to get it so wrong is baffling.”

The Blame Game and Systemic Failures

Webb acknowledged that Donohue’s tunnel vision should have been caught by his support team. The assistant VAR, Blake Antrobus, made only one minor contribution throughout the entire review. In a process that should involve collaborative checks and balances, Antrobus essentially disappeared when Donohue needed him most.

“In that moment, he gets tunnel vision,” Webb said. “It’s down to the rest of his team to pull him out of that tunnel, and unfortunately, that didn’t happen on this occasion.”

The refereeing body also pointed to an interesting pressure point: officials were being encouraged to be more efficient with VAR checks this season, avoiding excessive time reviews. This may have contributed to the rushed assessment, though Webb didn’t explicitly blame the directive.

Consequences and Learning

Both Donohue and Antrobus have been suspended from officiating until after the international break. Webb expressed disappointment with the outcome and acknowledged that the officials themselves are “obviously hurting now, having fallen short in this situation.”

He emphasized that this type of error needs prevention going forward: “This goal should’ve been disallowed. And highly unfortunately, it wasn’t, and we’ll review it, reflect upon it, and try to take the learning forward to prevent this unusual type of error from happening again.”

The incident also highlighted a broader question about sports technology and human decision-making. Semi-automated offside technology functioned correctly, but the human interpretation layer failed catastrophically. When officials have a clear subjective decision to make, as they did here, can we truly trust the process?

Web also addressed another controversial moment from the match: Phil Foden’s red card for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes in the 23rd minute. Webb backed the dismissal but noted that Fernandes’ similar act was more petulant than violent, warranting only a yellow card. The inconsistency further muddied what should have been a straightforward football match.

This derby will be remembered not for either team’s performance, but for a VAR mistake that handed Manchester City all three points through pure human error.

Source: BBC Sport