Carrick says refereeing error must not derail Manchester United’s season

Michael Carrick has told Manchester United to move on from the refereeing controversy that followed their derby defeat by Manchester City, insisting the issue cannot be allowed to shape the rest of the campaign.

The decision to award Erling Haaland’s goal proved decisive in Manchester City’s 1-0 victory last weekend. The goal stood despite Enzo Fernandez attempting to play the ball from an offside position, while Manchester City had Phil Foden sent off in the 23rd minute.

Howard Webb, head of the refereeing committee at the Professional Game Match Officials organisation, expressed his deep disappointment over the decision earlier this week.

Manchester United’s problems continued on Wednesday when they surrendered a two-goal lead before losing 3-2 at home to Brighton, exiting the English League Cup in the first round. It was also Carrick’s second successive home defeat since taking charge in January, a sequence that had not previously occurred during his time as manager.

The reaction to both matches has again highlighted how quickly the narrative can change around Old Trafford. Carrick, however, is focused on Sunday’s away fixture against Fulham and says his team must respond on the pitch.

“An incident like that can have an effect in the moment, and it can have a big impact, but we cannot allow it to affect the rest of the season,” Carrick said in comments reported by ESPN. “It is down to us to get back to winning ways as quickly as possible.”

Carrick said he still trusted referees, but admitted the apology over the decision carried limited significance.

“An apology does not mean a great deal,” he said. “I can appreciate and respect them acknowledging the mistake and putting their hands up to say: ‘We got that decision wrong.’ I think these things do happen.

“But we have to move on and deal with what is put in front of us. Maybe we will get one or two decisions in our favour later on, whether that is balance, percentages, the law of averages or whatever it is.

“That was an extremely big decision which is difficult to accept. It had a huge impact on the match, and that is why it was particularly hard.”

The focus on Haaland’s goal also diverted attention from Manchester United’s difficulty in breaking down Manchester City’s defence after their opponents were reduced to 10 men midway through the first half.

Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford both struck the post, while Gianluigi Donnarumma made a decisive save from Bryan Mbeumo in stoppage time. Even with a numerical advantage, though, Manchester United struggled to create clear opportunities.

Their collapse against Brighton came in the same month as two 2-2 draws with Everton after they had taken the lead. The Brighton defeat was Manchester United’s first at home to the club for 50 years and prompted questions about whether Carrick’s side lacked the ruthless edge associated with earlier generations of Manchester United teams.

“I think it is about what has happened over the past week or so and certain things that have shown up in matches,” Carrick said. “That does not suddenly mean there is one big, massive problem. That is the balance I have to assess.

“It is very easy, because these things have happened recently, to suddenly think it has been an ongoing problem for a long time. Part of our understanding as a team is recognising what can happen in football over a few matches and what we need to correct in the next phase.”