Wayne Rooney slams 'horrendous' VAR decision in Manchester derby as Pro Ref apologise

Wayne Rooney has slammed VAR for a "horrendous" decision which saw Manchester City score in the Manchester derby on Sunday.

The Manchester derby was marred by controversy as the only goal, scored by Erling Haaland, should not have counted. A cross was put in which Haaland turned home, but prior to it reaching him, Enzo Fernandez had interfered.

The Argentine began the move in an offside position, and in his attempts to play the ball, he clearly put off Lisandro Martinez from doing his job properly.

The defender was unable to make contact due to the movements made by Fernandez, and that allowed the ball to travel to Haaland at the back post, before it was put in.

United legend Rooney is among those unhappy with the decision.

He said on Match of the Day: "I'm just so sick of VAR. I think it's horrendous. It takes all the emotion out of the game, the energy that the game is played with.

"To not see that and recognise that Enzo Fernandez is in an offside position, anyone who has played the game at any level understands that and knows that he is an offside position. To get it so wrong, it's baffling."

Pro Ref apologise for wrong decision

The offside law clearly states that a player in an offside position cannot make an attempt to play the ball without a decision being given against them, and that's exactly what Fernandez did.

After the match, Pro Ref (previously PGMOL) apologised.

A statement read: 'Following the incident in the 60th minute of Sunday's Premier League fixture between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford, we can provide clarification regarding Erling Haaland's awarded goal.

'The on-field decision was offside against Erling Haaland - that was checked by VAR and he was found to be in an onside position.

'In the same attack, it was established that Enzo Fernandez did not play the ball and therefore that makes any offside offence subjective, however, on this occasion, the VAR did not recognise the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review.

'Contact has been made with Manchester United this evening to acknowledge what we deem is an error of judgement. A review of the incident will take place.'

The victory for City keeps them in the Premier League's top two, while United have dropped to 13th after the weekend's fixtures.