VAR was back at the centre of attention in Sunday’s Manchester derby after Erling Haaland’s winner for Manchester City was allowed to stand at Old Trafford.
It joins an increasingly long list of VAR controversies since the technology arrived in the Premier League. Here are five of the biggest.
5. Divock Origi Foul vs Manchester United – 2019
One of the early controversies of the VAR era came when Manchester United hosted Liverpool at Old Trafford.
Divock Origi appeared to be fouled in the build-up to United winning possession before Marcus Rashford scored at the other end. VAR reviewed the incident but allowed the goal to stand, leaving Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp furious.
4. Ivan Toney Goal vs Arsenal – 2023
Arsenal were leading Brentford 1-0 during their 2022/23 title challenge when Ivan Toney headed home an equaliser at the Emirates.
The goal survived a lengthy VAR check, but it later emerged that VAR Lee Mason had failed to fully check Christian Nørgaard’s position before he crossed for Toney.
The mistake proved costly for Arsenal as the game finished 1-1.
3. Erling Haaland vs Manchester United – 2026
The latest addition to the list.
Haaland scored the only goal as Manchester City won Sunday’s derby 1-0, but Enzo Fernandez was in an offside position during the build-up and moved towards the ball.
Although he did not touch it, his movement attracted the attention of Lisandro Martinez before Haaland finished. VAR allowed the goal, but the post-match assessment indicated Fernandez had impacted the defender and the goal should not have stood.
A huge decision in one of English football’s biggest fixtures.
2. Sheffield United’s ‘Ghost Goal’ vs Aston Villa – 2020
One of the strangest incidents of the VAR era actually began with goal-line technology failing.
Aston Villa goalkeeper Orjan Nyland carried Oliver Norwood’s free-kick over his own goal line, but Hawk-Eye failed to signal a goal.
Despite replays clearly showing the ball had crossed the line, VAR did not intervene and Sheffield United were denied a legitimate goal in a match that finished 0-0.
1. Luis Díaz vs Tottenham – 2023
Few VAR errors have been quite as extraordinary as this one.
Luis Díaz appeared to put ten-man Liverpool ahead against Tottenham, only to be flagged offside. Replays showed Díaz was actually onside, but a communication breakdown caused VAR Darren England to mistakenly believe the on-field decision had been a goal.
He therefore called “check complete”, believing he was confirming the goal, when in reality the message confirmed the incorrect offside decision.
By the time the officials realised what had happened, play had restarted and the decision was not changed. Liverpool eventually lost 2-1.
It remains one of the most infamous VAR mistakes the Premier League has seen.
Keep or Bin VAR?
Sunday’s Manchester derby has once again put VAR under the microscope.
The technology was introduced to reduce major refereeing errors, but incidents like these continue to divide football fans.
