Matt Donohue, the VAR who incorrectly allowed Erling Haaland's goal against Manchester United to stand last month, will return to Premier League officiating this weekend. Donohue was dropped for three rounds of matches by Pro Ref after the error.
United were beaten 1-0 in the Manchester Derby in September after Haaland's winner was not chalked off. Enzo Fernandez was offside and interfering with play, but his involvement was not spotted by VAR Matt Donohue and his assistant Blake Antrobus.
Reinstatement for this weekend's fixtures
Donohue has not worked on Premier League matches since the game on September 13 but has now been reinstated for this weekend's round of fixtures. He will be the assistant VAR for Saturday's match between Coventry and Fulham.
Antrobus has already made his comeback as assistant referee for Aston Villa's 1-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday.
Webb admits 'tunnel vision' error
Pro Ref chief Howard Webb later admitted that Donohue had got "tunnel vision" which meant he only focused on Haaland and not Fernandez's position. The high-profile mistake was a serious dent in the confidence of Pro Ref and their officials this season.
Appearing on Match Officials Mic'd Up last month, Webb admitted: "We felt it was important that we acknowledged an error in this situation. We know that Erling Haaland, who was penalised on field for offside, wasn't in an offside position. But we also know that Enzo Fernandez, who was in an offside position, almost certainly interfered with the Manchester United defence and probably the goalkeeper as well."
"I was really disappointed with this outcome. We all are. None more so than the officials themselves. They take a lot of personal pride in what they do and they're obviously hurting now, having fallen short in this situation. They'll not be officiating again until after the international break. We've reached out to Manchester United and acknowledged the error, as we do when these things happen."
Donohue's recent assignments
While he has been absent from Premier League officiating for the last three match weeks, Donohue has been working in the Championship. He was referee for the 0-0 draw between Southampton and Bolton last Saturday and the 1-1 draw between Derby and Wrexham on October 10.
Although he has only officiated five times in the Premier League, Donohue is an experienced referee with 190 Championship games under his belt.
