Photo via Sky Sports

Nev: Officials got Haaland winner wrong - Man Utd can expect Pro Ref apology

Manchester City secured a 1-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford, but the decisive strike from Erling Haaland has sparked severe refereeing debate. Although the finish was ruled out on the pitch for offside, a video review reversed that ruling after judging Patrick Dorgu kept the Norwegian goalscorer onside.

However, Enzo Fernandez tried to play the delivery from an illegal area ahead of the back-post strike, seeming to hinder United defender Lisandro Martinez. Gary Neville argued that the governing refereeing body Pro Ref erred in letting the goal stand, forecasting that an official apology will be granted to the hosts for failing to penalize Fernandez's interference.

The Premier League Match Centre issued a statement confirming the video assistant referee deemed Fernandez never made contact with the ball, which matched the focus of the footage evaluated during the check. Even so, the sport's regulations dictate that an attacker can illegally interfere with opponents without physical contact by contesting or striving for a nearby ball.