Referee chief under huge pressure following Premier League VAR blunders

News

FT Desk

There is reportedly huge pressure now on the shoulders of refereeing chief Howard Webb following some controversial VAR incidents in the Premier League over the weekend.

Webb is a former Premier League and international referee. He now works as Chief Refereeing Officer at Pro Ref, the organisation responsible for referees in English professional football.

On Sunday evening, Pro Ref were forced to apologise after they acknowledged a mistake was made in the Manchester derby.

Man City won the game 1-0 thanks to a solitary goal from Erling Haaland. It was initially flagged as offside, though VAR intervened and determined that the Norwegian was onside.

However, it was later confirmed that Enzo Fernandez had been in an offside position when a cross came in from Josko Gvardiol. Even though the Argentine did not touch the ball, he attempted to, which interfered with play.

"Following the incident in the 60th minute of Sunday's Premier League fixture between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford, we can provide clarification regarding Erling Haaland's awarded goal," a Pro Ref statement read.

"The on-field decision was offside against Erling Haaland - that was checked by VAR and he was found to be in an onside position.

"In the same attack, it was established that Enzo Fernandez did not play the ball and therefore that makes any offside offence subjective, however, on this occasion, the VAR did not recognise the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review.

"Contact has been made with Manchester United this evening to acknowledge what we deem is an error of judgement. A review of the incident will take place."

The night before, during Arsenal's Premier League clash against Sunderland, the home side were awarded a penalty at the Stadium of Light after a tussle between Daniel Ballard and Ezri Konsa.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was furious at the decision post-match, saying:

"It's a huge win, but it could've been something very different. They [the referees] could have changed the game.

"It is unacceptable at this level. Unacceptable. This can change the course of the season, the championship. I've watched it 10 times to make sure.

"This was Mikel Arteta becoming the Alex Ferguson of the Premier League"@Carra23 says Mikel Arteta is the 'Don' of the Premier League right now 🔴 pic.twitter.com/NitthoyecN

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 14, 2026

"The 27 years I've been in football, it's not a penalty in any case, in any context, at any level, in any league. I watched it live, and I thought it was not possible to make this kind of decision for a penalty, because it's a judo roll, that's what it is. It cannot happen."

It was subsequently reported that Arsenal plan to raise the issue with Pro Ref, the association in charge of officiating in England.

Even though there has been no acknowledgement of a mistake in that Arsenal game, Webb finds himself under pressure, reports the Mirror.

The VAR team from the Manchester derby, Matt Donohue and Blake Antrobus, have been axed from the next round of Premier League fixtures following the call at Old Trafford. Webb has been called upon to explain the decisions from the weekend, while a number of clubs are growing increasingly concerned about the standard of refereeing in the Premier League.

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher says the officials “lost focus” in the game between Man Utd and Man City and that is why they did not give an offside rather than a goal. Gallagher told Sky Sports: “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.”