Premier League shares why VAR allowed Haaland’s goal after a tricky decision
Erling Haaland scored a controversial goal as Manchester City took an unexpected lead against Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Enzo Maresca’s team faced a big challenge when Phil Foden was sent off for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes in the first half, but City didn’t let that stop them. They put in a great performance despite being down to 10 players.
City seemed to be energized by the decision and defended well against United. Haaland then scored a surprise goal by squeezing a shot in from a tight angle, even though it looked like he might have been offside. After a long wait, the goal was allowed, sparking a lot of debate among fans.
At first, Haaland seemed offside when the linesman raised his flag to disallow the goal. The TV replays didn’t clear things up either because the camera angle wasn’t perfectly aligned, making it hard to tell if he was offside.
Referee Michael Oliver stopped the game for a VAR review. After a lengthy check, the decision was changed, and the goal was given. VAR determined Haaland was onside because defender Patrick Dorgu played him onside. But the debate didn’t stop there.
There was another controversial moment when Enzo Fernandez challenged the cross and seemed to distract United’s Lisandro Martinez before Haaland scored at the back post. While Haaland was ruled onside, some argued whether Fernandez interfered enough to affect the play and distract the defender.
Gary Neville, commentating on the match, thought that looking back, people would see the decision was wrong because of Fernandez’s involvement.
However, the Premier League tried to clear things up by releasing an official statement about the officials’ decision. It said: “VAR checked the referee’s call of no goal for offside and decided Haaland was onside, so the goal was allowed. VAR also found Fernandez didn’t play the ball, even if he was in an offside position.”
Manchester United fans might still feel unhappy with the goal after reviewing the offside rules. According to the FA’s website, referencing IFAB rules, Fernandez’s actions might count as offside, which means the goal should have been disallowed.
IFAB rules say a player in an offside position is only penalized if they get involved in active play by either playing or touching the ball, or interfering with an opponent by blocking their view, challenging for the ball, or making a clear move that impacts the opponent’s ability to play the ball.
This whole situation has kept fans and experts talking, showing just how tricky some football decisions can be!