Manchester City manager Enzo Mareska has voiced his discontent over attempts to trivialise the derby with a refereeing controversy following his side's narrow victory at Old Trafford. The Italian was incensed that Erling Haaland’s contentious winning goal was given more focus than the sheer determination his team displayed to win 1-0 while a man down.
City found themselves with ten men after just 23 minutes when Phil Foden saw red for a challenge on Bruno Fernandes. Yet, it was City who struck first when Haaland found the net shortly after the hour mark. However, the referee’s decision was later scrutinised, as VAR acknowledged a mistake due to the offside interference from Enzo Fernandes, who impeded defenders while chasing the ball.
Ahead of their Carabao Cup clash with Norwich City, Mareska fired back at the pundits:
It's quite petty to reduce the entire match to a single moment when we battled for 70-75 minutes with ten men. The team's performance was phenomenal, and I’m proud of the lads' commitment. Yes, a mistake was recognised, and that’s that. Sometimes the whistle goes in your favour, sometimes against. That’s football.
Mareska, who took over from Pep Guardiola in the summer, reminded critics of previous officiating errors during his tenure as an assistant three years ago:
Three years ago, when I was here as Guardiola's assistant, the same scenario unfolded against Manchester United. They scored a goal from a blatant foul, and we received no apologies. We’re still waiting for those apologies.
Howard Webb, head of the PGMOL, publicly acknowledged the VAR team's failure during an appearance on Match Officials Mic'd Up:
I am deeply disappointed with the outcome. We’re all frustrated, and most of all, the referees are. The VAR official was too focused on Haaland, confirming he was onside and deeming the goal valid. They failed to assess the real impact of Fernandes’ position on the incident, checking only the ball’s touch, not the defenders’ interference.
