Manchester’s derby arguments have moved from Old Trafford to the press room, where Enzo Maresca said officials’ mistakes must be accepted as part of football after a ruling that helped Manchester City beat Manchester United.
City won 1-0 on Sunday despite spending most of the contest a player down, with Erling Haaland scoring the decisive goal. Refereeing officials later accepted that the strike should not have stood.
Quick facts
- Manchester City defeated Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford.
- Haaland scored while City were reduced to 10 men for around 70 to 75 minutes.
- Enzo Fernández was not offside himself, but his involvement in the move should have led VAR to alert the referee.
- Maresca recalled an analogous disputed United goal in a 2-1 derby defeat in January 2023.
The issue concerned Fernández’s position during the move. The Argentine was judged to have affected play despite not being the player in an offside position, meaning the VAR team should have referred the incident to the on-field official.
Maresca said the rapid demands placed on video officials should be recognised. Those working in front of the screens often have only 10 or 20 seconds to reach a decision, he said, and errors can fall either way.
“Officials make mistakes, coaches make mistakes and players make mistakes,” the Italian said. “That is part of the job.”
A previous Old Trafford grievance
The City coach also looked back to January 2023, when he was Pep Guardiola’s assistant during a 2-1 derby loss to United. Bruno Fernandes’ equaliser was allowed even though Marcus Rashford, while not touching the ball, was offside and involved in the phase of play.
Maresca said the circumstances were comparable to Fernández’s role in Sunday’s winning goal. He noted, with a smile, that City had never received an apology for the earlier decision and said football inevitably brings calls that favour a side and others that hurt it.
His greater frustration was with the focus placed on one refereeing moment rather than City’s resistance in Manchester. Maresca described his side’s display as extraordinary after they played roughly three quarters of the match with 10 men, and said reducing the occasion to a single incident was a poor reading of the derby.
