Manchester United suffered a miserable 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at Old Trafford in the Premier League today.
The Red Devils were handed a huge early advantage when Phil Foden was shown a straight red card for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes.
The hosts subsequently took control of proceedings but Erling Haaland scored a highly controversial goal at the hour mark that ultimately decided the fate of the clash.
Lisandro Martinez did not hide his frustration after the final whistle and launched a furious assessment of the refereeing decision.
He said (via Sky Sports): “I think [Fernandez] was offside. What I can’t understand is the rules.
“He was there! I went to him because he was in front of me. That’s why Haaland was free at the back.
“I want to be calm but it is so hard. Every season the officials come to our club and spend an hour explaining the rules and they look so confident with that.
“Then after, five or six people (officials) doing this kind of mistake in the Premier League is unacceptable.
“We have to go home with this injustice.”
VAR made an inexcusable blunder
The assistant referee initially raised his flag for offside, with Haaland appearing to be in an offside position at first glance.
Even Haaland did not appear overly concerned by the situation, with his positioning leaving plenty of room for debate.
Josko Gvardiol’s cross took a deflection off Patrick Dorgu, explaining why Haaland himself could ultimately be considered onside when the ball reached him.
However, Enzo Fernandez had made a run across the box and attempted to challenge for the ball, immediately becoming central to the controversy.
Martinez moved across to cover the former Chelsea midfielder, inadvertently leaving Haaland with the space he needed at the far post.
The key question was whether Fernandez, despite not touching the ball, had interfered with an opponent or impacted the play from an offside position.
VAR officials ultimately decided that the involvement was not sufficient to constitute an offside offence, allowing Haaland’s goal to stand and sparking fury among the United players.
The officials had the option of recommending that referee Michael Oliver review the pitch-side monitor, but no such review was made.
United have every right to feel aggrieved by the decision and should demand a clear explanation from the Premier League over why the goal was allowed to stand.
