Maresca backs VAR officials after controversial Haaland goal in Manchester derby

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has defended VAR officials after Erling Haaland’s controversial winner was allowed to stand in Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United.

Haaland struck in the 60th minute at Old Trafford to give City a fourth consecutive Premier League win, but the goal has been overshadowed by a decision that the refereeing body Pro Ref described as an “error of judgment”.

The forward was initially flagged offside, before VAR ruled he had been played onside by Manchester United defender Patrick Dorgu. However, the review failed to account for the position of Enzo Fernandez, who was clearly offside and interfering with play.

Pro Ref said the video assistant referee should have recommended an on-field review, but Maresca said officials should be allowed for mistakes made under pressure.

“Sometimes they go for you, the decisions, sometimes they go against you,” he said. “But also it’s not easy, I think, for the VAR, for the people that are in front of the screen, and in 10 seconds, 20 seconds they have to make a decision.

“It’s not easy for them. Sometimes they make some mistakes. I make mistakes, players make mistakes, I think it’s part of our job.”

Maresca was speaking before Manchester City’s League Cup third-round match against Championship side Norwich on Thursday. He said the debate over Haaland’s goal had distracted from his team’s performance, particularly after City played most of the match with 10 men following Phil Foden’s first-half dismissal.

The Italian, who replaced Pep Guardiola as Manchester City manager in June, also referred to a previous controversial decision involving Manchester United.

During the 2022/23 season, when Maresca was Guardiola’s assistant, Bruno Fernandes was allowed to score in a 2-1 Manchester United win at Old Trafford despite Marcus Rashford being in an offside position.

Maresca said he was still waiting for an apology over that incident.

“Three years ago, when I was here, it happened exactly the same against Man United,” said the former Chelsea boss.

“We lost the derby there. The goal was not a regular goal, if you remember. To be honest, no one apologised. We are still waiting for the apology for that goal.

“Sometimes it happens for you, sometimes it happens against you. It’s football.”

Asked whether he was pleased VAR would not be used in the early rounds of the League Cup, Maresca redirected attention to City’s display at Old Trafford.

“I’m pleased with the unbelievable performance from the players on Sunday,” he said. “I’m very pleased with that. Talking about one moment after that game, when we played for 70-75 minutes with 10 players, I think it’s quite poor. I think the performance was unbelievable.”