Referees' chief Howard Webb is under mounting pressure after another major error from his officials. Webb, Pro Ref's chief refereeing officer, has removed VAR team Matt Donohue and Blake Antrobus from next weekend's Premier League fixtures after allowing Erling Haaland's winner to stand in the Manchester derby.
Manchester United apology and Arsenal complaint
Pro Ref have already been forced to contact Manchester United to explain the “error of judgment” as they failed to disallow City striker Haaland's goal despite Enzo Fernandez being in an offside position and interfering with play. Arsenal have also made contact with Webb following Mikel Arteta's post-match rant that a penalty was given against Ezri Konsa for a challenge on Sunderland's Dan Ballard.
It is understood Arsenal want an explanation about why the decision was given by referee John Brooks. Referees are under orders to clamp down on penalty box grappling but Arsenal may feel they have been unfairly targeted because similar incidents went unpunished in other games.
Clubs concerned about consistency
It has left Webb feeling the heat and Mirror Sport understands that several clubs have major concerns about consistency, new directives - like grappling this season - not being applied fairly and why huge mistakes continue to happen. Webb has been in the job for coming up to four years and, while there is an acceptance that he is determined to drive change and they like his communication, there is frustration about refereeing standards.
United defender Lisandro Martinez described Haaland's goal as an “injustice” because he and teammate, keeper Senne Lammens, were influenced by Fernandez's presence. It has caused disbelief in football circles and the Haaland howler was compared to former Liverpool striker Luis Diaz's goal being wrongly disallowed at Tottenham in 2023 which is widely regarded as the biggest blunder in VAR history.
Webb to face clubs at shareholders' meeting
Donohue and Antrobus have been stood down but Webb has got some explaining to do to clubs in the next Premier League shareholders' meeting and also the next edition of Match Officials Mic'd Up. But referee Michael Oliver, who was in charge at Old Trafford, is down to officiate Sunday's match between Bournemouth and Liverpool so it would appear that he has been absolved of blame.
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher says the officials “lost focus” and that is why they did not give an offside rather than a goal. Gallagher told Sky: “I think they are so focused on whether Fernandez touches the ball - he doesn't - that they've lost focus. He's clearly gone to head the ball. If you watch, Lammens is the first affected because he goes to make the save, Martinez is dragged away from Haaland because he's got to go to it.”
