Errors or intent? Catastrophic refereeing blunders tarnish the Premier League's image

The Manchester derby has added a fresh chapter to English refereeing's growing catalogue of controversy and error.

Haaland settled yesterday's meeting between Manchester United and Manchester City with the game's only goal in the 60th minute, though officials initially flagged it for offside.

Replays told a different story. Haaland was onside all along, with United's Patrick Dorgu playing the Norwegian striker back into legal territory.

Enzo Fernandez was the real source of the row. Standing in an offside position, he went for the ball but never made contact.

The video assistant referee ruled that Fernandez had not committed an offside offence because he never touched it, and so had not interfered with play in a way that warranted chalking off the goal.

Referees' chiefs later conceded the call was wrong. The assessment of the player's impact on the passage of play had missed the mark, they admitted, and the decision should have gone to the match referee for an on-field review.

Before Video Assistant Referee technology entered its most controversial years, one incident stood out in the 2021-2022 season, during the match between Everton and Manchester City.

Rodri handled the ball inside the penalty area, but the referee waved play on. VAR did not intervene to overturn the decision, and Everton were denied a penalty.

Mike Riley, then head of the referees' committee, apologised to Everton after the match. He confirmed the decision was wrong and that awarding the penalty would have given the team a chance to get back into the game.

Timing gave the incident greater weight. Everton were battling for survival, while City were locked in a tight title race with Liverpool. The Citizens settled it by a single point, which meant this moment took on another dimension entirely and fed directly into steering the trophy their way.

The 2022-2023 season witnessed a large number of controversial decisions, the most prominent of which came in the match between Arsenal and Brentford.

Ivan Toney scored Brentford's equaliser despite Christian Norgaard standing offside during the move. Video assistant referee Lee Mason failed to draw the offside lines and review the player's position correctly.

The referees' committee acknowledged a clear error and apologised to Arsenal, who were competing strongly for the league title.

Another error surfaced that same season in the match between Brighton and Crystal Palace, when officials disallowed Pervis Estupinan's goal for offside.

The review showed the offside lines had been drawn on the wrong player, which led to the incorrect decision to rule the goal out.

Bruno Fernandes sparked more controversy in the match between Manchester United and Manchester City. Officials awarded United's goal despite Marcus Rashford standing offside, with the video assistant referee deeming that the forward had not interfered with play in a manner that warranted disallowing it. The decision looked strange and caused much ink to flow given Rashford's direct run towards the ball.

Reviews carried out at the end of the season counted 38 errors linked to video assistant referee technology. That figure made the campaign one of the most controversial since the technology was introduced.

The 2023-2024 season witnessed one of the most famous VAR errors in Premier League history.

Liverpool were hosting Tottenham when Luis Díaz had a goal disallowed for offside. The replay told a different story: the forward was in a perfectly legal position.

The real failure went beyond the on-field call. Inside the VAR room, those handling the review believed the goal had already been given, so they never stepped in to correct it.

The referees' committee admitted the error and apologised to Liverpool. It became a stark reminder that VAR technology does not wipe out mistakes, especially when communication breaks down or a decision gets misread.

Another controversy followed that same season when Liverpool faced Arsenal. Martin Ødegaard handled the ball inside his own box, yet no penalty came. 

Howard Webb, head of the referees' committee, later reviewed the case and confirmed Liverpool should have had the spot-kick.

Reviews carried out to assess VAR's performance put the total number of errors that season at 31.

The 2024-2025 season served up another VAR controversy, with the technology once again under fire.

Bruno Fernandes saw a straight red card in Manchester United's meeting with Tottenham after a challenge on James Maddison. The English Football Association later rescinded it on appeal.

Howard Webb admitted the VAR should have sent the referee to the pitchside monitor. A review confirmed the dismissal did not deserve to stand.

Other incidents stirred debate across the same campaign, chief among them James Tarkowski's challenge on Alexis Mac Allister in the Merseyside derby. Some decisions stayed up for discussion without the referees' committee ever formally labelling them errors.

Even so, the number of errors tied to video technology fell noticeably, reaching 18 cases according to the approved assessments.

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The 2025-2026 season saw the number rise again, after the key match incidents panel recorded 25 VAR errors, compared to 18 the previous season, 31 in 2023-2024 and 38 in 2022-2023.

Manchester United's clash with Nottingham Forest in May 2026 ranked among the most notable incidents to get an official acknowledgement.

Matheus Cunha scored following an attack that began with a handball by Bryan Mbeumo.

VAR asked referee Michael Salisbury to review it. He went to the monitor, then stuck with his decision and awarded the goal.

The referees' committee later admitted the goal should have been disallowed. They contacted Nottingham Forest to apologise.

Here lies the hardest question of all. No reliable evidence suggests referees deliberately make mistakes to stir up controversy, so it would be unprofessional to turn the matter into a conspiracy theory.

Yet a more logical question is hard to ignore: how do errors of this kind keep happening in a league with all these resources?

The very concept of VAR rests on reducing human error. When a referee fails to see an incident, there is a screen. When the video referee misses it, there are several angles and replays. When the decision concerns offside, technology draws the lines. And when there is a red card, the referee can review the footage.

Even so, we have seen a legitimate goal like Díaz's disallowed because of a communication error, a goal like Toney's stand because nobody drew the offside line, a penalty like the Rodri incident waved away, a red card like Bruno's confirmed and then overturned later, and a goal like Cunha's allowed even though VAR itself prompted the referee to review it.

The figures say the situation has improved since the early days. VAR errors fell from 38 in 2022-2023 to 31, then to 18 in 2024-2025, before climbing again to 25 in 2025-2026.

But the numbers do not tell the whole story. A single error can matter more than ten marginal ones if it lands in a match that decides the title, relegation or European qualification.

Perhaps this is the biggest problem of all. When the referees' committee admits that Arsenal lost two points against Brentford, those two points do not come back.

Admit that Everton deserved a penalty against Manchester City, and the match is not replayed.

Rule that Diaz's goal was valid, and Liverpool still don't get the three points.

Say that Bruno's card against Tottenham was wrong, and the minutes United played with ten men do not come back.

Concede that Cunha's goal against Forest should have been disallowed, and the league table does not change.

So here's the real question. How many errors can a league that calls itself the strongest in the world tolerate, especially when they happen in an era of technology designed to prevent them?

Maybe there is no conspiracy. Maybe no one wants to manufacture controversy. But the repetition of errors, admitting to some and defending others, makes the question a fair one. Is the problem in the laws of the game, in the way they are interpreted, or is it simply that some referees and the video technology cannot keep pace with the level the Premier League has reached?