Photo via Sky Sports

Webb: VAR had 'tunnel vision' on Haaland which led to Enzo error

Referees' chief Howard Webb has expressed deep frustration over a technological blunder that incorrectly allowed Erling Haaland's decisive Manchester derby strike to stand. An on-field offside flag originally disallowed the finish, prompting video assistant referee Matt Donohue and assistant Blake Antrobus to review the sequence.

While replays verified that Haaland himself was level, the booth became overly fixated on the Norwegian forward and failed to penalize Enzo Fernandez for obstructing play from an illegal spot.

Fernandez lunged toward the delivery, significantly impeding defender Lisandro Martinez and goalkeeper Senne Lammens prior to Haaland converting. Despite reviewing the buildup, which also involved verifying Iliman Ndiaye's positioning, the remote team mistakenly deemed the phase valid purely because Fernandez made no physical contact with the ball.

As a consequence of this oversight, referee Michael Oliver was advised to reverse his original whistle, prompting Webb to openly concede that an error had tainted the final ruling.

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