Pro Ref have admitted Haaland’s derby winner should never have stood

A grim afternoon all around in Manchester

By Sunday evening, the body that runs Premier League refereeing had admitted that Haaland's winner should never have been given without an on-field review.

Refereeing body Pro Ref conceded an "error of judgement" over the goal that settled a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

It is said they contacted Manchester United to acknowledge the error.

Pro Ref said the VAR should have recommended an on-field review, adding that a review of the incident will now take place.

Why the Haaland goal was given

Erling Haaland scored in the 60th minute, finding the net at the back post from Josko Gvardiol's cross.

The flag went up immediately and, in the moment, few argued: it looked a straightforward call.

The video assistant referee then intervened, but Haaland, it was decided, had been played onside by Patrick Dorgu's foot, and the goal was awarded.

The problem was Enzo Fernandez, who was offside and in a considerably more central position than Haaland, and who dived at the ball as it came across the six-yard box.

Pro Ref's statement set out the reasoning: "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," they added.

Which is a careful way of saying the decision was not automatically wrong.

referee Michael Oliver was simply never given the chance to look at it himself.

For a goal that decided a Manchester derby, that is a fairly significant omission.

United's reaction

Lisandro Martinez called the decision an "injustice", while Michael Carrick said he was "confused" by it.

On Match of the Day, Wayne Rooney called the decision baffling, as did Danny Murphy, though both pundits agreed the other flashpoint of the afternoon was handled correctly.

That was Phil Foden's straight red card on 23 minutes, shown by Oliver for kicking out at the midriff of United captain Bruno Fernandes while Fernandes was on the turf.

City then played more than 70 minutes a man down and still won the 199th Manchester derby.

The refereeing row will dominate the week, but it slightly obscures where United actually are.

Four points from four games equals their worst start to a Premier League season since 1992-93, the same return they managed last season under Ruben Amorim.

Supporters protested against the club's ownership before kick-off, and a banner criticising the owners was unfurled inside the ground, while minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co-chair Avram Glazer watched from the directors' box.

Ratcliffe agreed on Christmas Eve 2023 to spend £1.25bn on his stake; chief executive Omar Berrada later spoke to staff about an aspiration to win the Premier League title in 2028.

On the evidence of Sunday, that is a very long shot indeed.

None of which will be much comfort this morning. Manchester United's summer transfer business was supposed to make afternoons like that less frequent, not more, and a review of a decision does not hand back three points.

You can catch up with the rest of the Premier League weekend here.