Blundering Manchester derby VAR officials set to be BLOCKED from working on Man United matches after being stood down for 'error of judgement' in allowing Erling Haaland's offside winner to stand

The bungling VAR duo at the centre of the Manchester derby fiasco are set to be blocked from officiating on United matches for the foreseeable future, Daily Mail Sport understands.

Matt Donohue and assistant Blake Antrobus were stood down for this weekend's fixtures after refs' chief Howard Webb admitted 'an error of judgement' was made over the staggering decision to allow Erling Haaland's winner for City at a stunned Old Trafford.

And it can also be disclosed that the pair are now highly unlikely to work on future United games for some time, according to those with knowledge of the situation.

Donohue and Antrobus will not officiate on any matches until 'at least after the international break' according to ref's body Pro Ref who, once again, find themselves in damage limitation mode.

Haaland's 60th minute strike was initially ruled out on the field for offside, with the Norwegian deemed to have strayed beyond United's last man.

However, VAR intervened and deemed that the City striker was actually being played onside by the outstretched boot of United defender Patrick Dorgu.

The VAR who made an 'error of judgement' in awarding a goal to Manchester City in Sunday's derby at Old Trafford has not been appointed to a Premier League game this weekend

Haaland's goal was given after a VAR review, with it having originally been ruled offside

However, Enzo Fernandez was in an offside position and attempted to go for the ball, meaning it should have been disallowed, with Pro Ref later apologising to Man United for the error

Referee Michael Oliver was subsequently ordered to overturn his decision. However, the officials appeared to miss the fact that Haaland's team-mate Enzo Fernandez, who was in an offside position, had clearly interfered with play given his proximity to United defender Lisandro Martinez and keeper Senne Lammens.

On Sunday night former World Cup Final referee Webb, who is said to be 'devastated' at the fiasco, explained that the VAR pair established that because Fernandez did not play the ball any offside offence was 'subjective' - but admitted they had not 'recognised the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review'.

He also apologised to United for the 'error of judgement' and promised a review would take place following their 1-0 loss.

Baffled United boss Michael Carrick, whose side have now won just one of their opening four fixtures, said he was at a loss, when interviewed post-match. 'The explanation I got was he (Fernandez) wasn't interfering with play,' he said. 'So I just don't get it. I really don't get it.

'I can't understand how they're trying to help referees and putting so many layers behind them with so many people, screens, and so many whatever offices to try and come up with the right decisions.

'If that's how the rules are interpreted, that you're not interfering with play because you've thrown yourself at the ball six yards from goal and pretty much nearly touched it, which then Lisandro has to react from – it's worrying if that's really how the game's seen by those who are officiating it.'

Carrick added: 'I think we all understand what that rule means and it's pretty obvious. It's as obvious as it gets.'

On Monday, Pro Ref announced that Donohue and Antrobus had been stood down, but the move has done little to quieten noise across fans, ex-players and media.

The highly avoidable mistake has put refereeing chief Howard Webb under scrutiny

Matt Donohue (left) was on VAR for the game alongside his assistant Blake Antrobus (right)

Some have called for the Premier League to ditch VAR entirely, making the point that a system operated by humans is, perhaps, unlikely to effectively eradicate human error.

Such a scenario is deemed a long shot, given that clubs voted 19-1 to keep the system at the last poll in 2024 and that the one dissenting voice, Wolverhampton Wanderers, are no longer in the Premier League.

The mess came on a problematic weekend for the refs' body which also saw it come under fire from Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard hit out after Sunderland were awarded a penalty after Ezri Konsa was adjudged to have dragged Dan Ballard to the ground from a long throw – a decision upheld following a VAR review.

'I am so upset,' said Arteta, who claimed Ballard had initiated the contact. 'It is unacceptable at this level, unacceptable. It can change the course of the season. I've seen it 10 times to make sure and I said "it is not possible it is penalty".

'It is a judo roll. That's what it is. This cannot happen.' The Gunners have also reached out to Pro Ref for an explanation.

With the season just four matches old, there have been a number of other contentious decisions. The Premier League Key Match Incidents panel ruled Arsenal should have had a penalty at Aston Villa for Ian Maatsen's challenge on Bruno Guimaraes and also that the Villa man should have received a second yellow.

The same panel ruled Nottingham Forest should not have been awarded a penalty at Liverpool for Alisson's challenge on Nico Williams, while still-goalless Tottenham Hotspur were left stunned when Omar Marmoush failed to win a penalty having gone down under contact from Newcastle United's Malick Thiaw, although the panel ruled 4-1 that the penalty threshold was not met.

Meanwhile, at City, there is a privately-held view that justice has eventually been served. In January 2023's derby, they were on the receiving end of a similar call when Marcus Rashford was deemed to not be interfering for Bruno Fernandes' equaliser in an Old Trafford tussle their hosts would go on to win 2-1.

Following the match then City manager Pep Guardiola disclosed that the club would not be making an official complaint. 'Sometimes it happens in our favour, sometimes it's like that,' he said.