VAR on Peace - Referees. Whats the Fucking Point Anymore…

Offside is Onside, and Referees Can’t Do Their Jobs - Just A Normal Sunday in the Premier League

We’re back. Talking about VAR. And another wrong decision. And more incompetent refereeing. Imagine my shock.

The latest on an ever-growing list of top flight officiating cock-ups was played out by an Oscar-worthy cast of Michael Oliver as the man in the middle, Stuart Burt and Tim Wood as sideline officials, Paul Tierney as the man with the board, and the pairing of Matt Donohue and Blake Antrobus were cast as side characters in the VAR room.

Somehow, all of them failed to see what to everyone in the stands was clear as day - that Enzo Fernandez was offside and interfered with play directly before Erling Haaland rifled Man City into a 1-0 lead, a margin they would defend to take away all three points, maintaining their 100% record in the process.

We’ve seen VAR make mistakes, and more concerningly, recognise and apologise for them, before, but this one, thanks to its occurrence in a Manchester derby, has taken the fan-anger barometer to a whole new level of displeasure.

Official Stance

It wasn’t just Erling Haaland’s goal that divided football fans across the country. Bruno Fernandes’s gruff challenge on Phil Foden after 22 minutes, and the Englishman’s subsequent kick-out at last campaigns player of the season earned him a straight red card, putting City on the backfoot and limiting their chances of a win.

That decision itself led to plenty of scrutiny - it was back in 2020 that Man United’s Harry Magurie kicked out on Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi (catching him in a rather unpleasant area), and yet somehow, despite Foden’s being identical in almost every way, the centre-back had avoided a straight red.

Evidently, the rules around tackle retaliation have changed - had Foden made that challenge six years ago, there is a reasonable chance he would have survived a VAR and stayed on the field, making for an even and more interesting game of football as a result.

🗣️ "Bruno [Fernandes] is the one who is violent here, I have to call it out"

Roy Keane doesn't believe Phil Foden deserved to be sent off against Man Utd 🟥 pic.twitter.com/up5ZQqFShy

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 13, 2026

Yes, the challenge probably was worthy of a red card, but the fact that Bruno, and had instigated the reaction by semi-subtly kicking out at the Englishman on the floor, didn’t receive a similar punishment, or even a card, saw plenty of fans up in arms claiming unfair treatment.

It’s completely understandable - Foden was baited into flicking a stud out at Bruno because he received a completely unnecessary kick to the backside whilst on the floor after a foul. Bruno’s role in the flashpoint should have been looked at more closely, and subsequently punished.

Clearly, the officials were feeling a bit of pressure after showing Foden the red card - it’s a natural reaction to making a controversial call that divides fanbases, and they certainly would have been able to hear what City thought of them in the stadium.

But pressure, criticism and a general unease are no excuse for the decision that would take place 37 minutes later as Haaland controversially converted Josko Gvardiol’s cross to hand City the only goal of the game.

De Ja VAR

Haaland himself was onside - initially, when shown the moment the ball left the full-backs boot, the questionable camera angle indicated that the big Norwegian may have been off. However, when the lines were drawn, that argument died where it stood.

What didn’t die down were the protests that £125 million man Enzo Fernandez was interfering with play from an offside position moments before Haaland found the net. Standing offside when Gvardiol sent the ball across the box, the Argentine made a diving effort to head the ball, and though he didn’t make contact with the ball, there is no doubt that his actions influenced the movements of the United backline.

Fernandez's run and subsequent header attempt drew countryman Lisandro Martinez away from Haaland as the centre-back instead looked to mark the offside man, a move which undoubtedly led to a goal being scored. The goal was initially ruled out by the linesman on the near side, no one disagreed - but after a lengthy check, the decision was overturned, and Haaland had his 168th goal for Manchester City.

Erling Haaland has put Manchester City ahead in the derby after a VAR check ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/V0DCwryhFy

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 13, 2026

The issue is that VAR have made it incredibly hard for themselves to be consistent, with controversial decisions standing or not standing multiple times a season. In fact Haaland’s goal was a case of De Ja Vu, as an almost identical goal was given just three years ago in the same fixture.

On that occasion, it was Marcus Rashford who was threaded through on goal from an offside position, with defenders slowing their runs as they knew the Englishman couldn’t touch the ball. Rashford didn’t touch it, and the ball instead rolled to the feet of an onside Bruno Fernandes, who dispatched the finish.

City were fuming as, even though Rashford hadn’t touched the ball, he had influenced the actions of the Man City backline as an illegal man, meaning the goal shouldn’t stand. However, VAR saw it differently, and the lack of a touch by Rashford meant that the ball had found it’s way to Fernandes entirely fairly, and the goal was given.

In some perverse way, this could be viewed as a rare show of consistency by VAR, and some fans have pointed out the similarities of the two incidents across social media. However, despite the two near identical scenarios culminating in the goal being given, the discussion is once again about how VAR is wrong, not how it is right.

The rules of the game state that if an offside player directly interferes with play, then a free kick should be given to the opposition. Fernandez was clearly in an illegal position, and despite not making any contact with the ball, his presence was enough to draw defenders towards him - ergo, a direct impact on play.

Well, Karma came back at Manchester United. This is Rashford against Manchester City here, interfering with the play and the goal was given. pic.twitter.com/kxTsG7BoYX

— Ahmed Abubakar (@ahmed4rl) September 13, 2026

At this point, it feels as if we know the rules better than the people who are supposed to know them - eventually, we will reach a breaking point where VAR goes a step too far, and genuine discussions start to be had about minimising its impact on the game.

Haaland’s goal against Man United was far from the first of its kind, but it spoiled the feeble belief of fans that this season would be better than the last. The more it becomes a talking point, the more hated it becomes, so we have to ask - at what point do we get rid of VAR?