Maresca Defends VAR Officials After Man City Benefit From Controversial Goal

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has defended VAR officials after his side benefited from a controversial refereeing decision in their 1-0 Premier League victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Erling Haaland scored the decisive goal in the 60th minute to maintain Manchester City’s perfect start to the Premier League season, with the victory making it four wins from four matches.

The goal, however, sparked controversy after Haaland was initially flagged offside.

VAR officials later overturned the decision, ruling that Manchester United defender Patrick Dorgu had played him onside.

However, the VAR review failed to properly consider the position of Enzo Fernandez, who was clearly in an offside position and was judged to have interfered with the play.

The refereeing body Pro Ref subsequently acknowledged what it described as an “error of judgment”, stating that the VAR official should have recommended an on-field review.

Despite the controversy, Maresca urged understanding for the officials, saying mistakes are part of football.

“Sometimes the decisions go for you, sometimes they go against you,” Maresca said ahead of Manchester City’s League Cup third-round clash with Championship side Norwich City.

“It’s not easy for VAR officials and the people in front of the screens. In 10 or 20 seconds, they have to make a decision.

Sometimes they make mistakes. I make mistakes, players make mistakes. I think it is part of our job.”

Maresca also expressed frustration that so much attention had been placed on the controversial goal rather than Manchester City’s overall performance, particularly after his team 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 recalled a similar incident involving Manchester United during the 2022/23 season, when he was working as Guardiola’s assistant.

At the time, Bruno Fernandes was allowed to score despite Marcus Rashford being in an offside position during United’s 2-1 victory over City at Old Trafford.

Maresca said he was still waiting for an apology from officials over that incident.
“Three years ago, when I was here, exactly the same thing happened against Manchester United,” he said.

“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. That is football.”

Maresca also dismissed a question about whether he was pleased that VAR would not be used in the early rounds of the League Cup, instead choosing to focus on his players’ performance against Manchester United.

“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 or 75 minutes with 10 players, I think it is quite poor. The performance was unbelievable.”

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