Wayne Rooney, the former Manchester United captain, launched a furious attack on the video assistant referee system after Manchester United's 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Manchester derby on Sunday, September 13, 2026.
The only goal of the match, scored by Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, was flagged offside by the assistant referee before the video assistant referee, known as VAR, overturned the call and awarded the goal. Video review showed Haaland himself was in a legal position when the ball was played through to him. The disputed part of the move was the position of Enzo Fernandez, who was offside just before the goal was scored, raising the question of whether he had interfered with United's ability to deal with the ball.
Rooney, 40, did not hold back. He said he was fed up with VAR, that it made him feel sick, and that it was horrible. He said it stripped all the emotion out of the game, along with the energy with which players approach it.
Rooney disputes the offside call
The former striker went on to question how officials could have missed the impact of Fernandez's position. He said anyone who has ever played the game, at any level, could see and understand that Fernandez was offside. He added that getting a decision that wrong was simply staggering.
Rooney is Manchester United's all-time record goalscorer and captained the club for several seasons during a career that also made him England's record international scorer before he retired from playing. His comments carry particular weight at Old Trafford, where he remains one of the club's most recognisable former players.
Officials admit judgement error
Rooney was not alone in criticising the decision. Manchester United manager Michael Carrick, another former United midfielder, described the call as astonishing. Ex-United and England defender Gary Neville said he was left baffled by the explanations offered for the goal standing.
The body responsible for professional refereeing in English football issued a statement addressing the incident directly. It said the on-field decision had been offside against Haaland, and that this had been checked by VAR, which found he was in a legal position.
It went on to explain that in the same passage of play, it had been established that Fernandez had not touched the ball, which meant any offside interference was a matter of judgement rather than fact. However, it said that in this specific case, VAR had failed to properly weigh the likely impact of Fernandez's position and should have sent the officials to review the incident on the pitch themselves.
The organisation said it had contacted Manchester United on the evening of the match to acknowledge what it described as a judgement error, and confirmed that an investigation into the incident would be carried out.
What happens next
Manchester United and Manchester City are the two biggest clubs in the city and one of English football's fiercest rivalries, with the derby regularly drawing intense scrutiny of refereeing decisions. VAR was introduced across the Premier League to reduce exactly this kind of controversy by allowing officials to review contentious incidents on video, but its use in offside and interference calls has remained one of the most debated aspects of the modern game.
No details have yet been given on the scope or timing of the refereeing body's investigation into the incident.
