• •The refereeing body acknowledged Erling Haaland’s decisive goal in Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Manchester United was disallowed by correct protocol
• •Al Jazeera reports the error occurred while Manchester City was operating with ten players on the pitch
• •It remains unclear whether the governing body will initiate disciplinary reviews or procedural changes for match officials following this admission

The refereeing body has confirmed that Erling Haaland’s match-winning goal in the recent Manchester Derby should have been ruled out. This admission follows a 1-0 result that saw Manchester City secure a win despite a numerical disadvantage. While retrospective acknowledgments of officiating errors are common in top-flight leagues, the scale of this error in a high-stakes derby highlights ongoing inconsistencies in VAR-assisted decision-making. The next milestone to watch is whether the league implements updated officiating oversight to mitigate similar high-profile failures in future matches.