POLICY WIRE FACT CHECK: Did VAR get the goal wrong in Manchester derby, as claimed by referee body?

The Claim

A viral claim surfaced suggesting that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) made an incorrect decision during a recent Manchester derby, specifically regarding a goal award. The claim was attributed to a statement from a referee body, which allegedly stated that the VAR system had erred in its assessment of the play. The claim gained traction across social media platforms and news outlets, with users sharing screenshots of the alleged statement and video clips of the match in question.

The original source of the claim was a Reuters Fact Check article titled "VAR got goal award wrong in Manchester derby, says ref’s body". While the article did not explicitly confirm the claim, it referenced a broader debate about the reliability of VAR in high-stakes matches. The claim was amplified by users who interpreted the article’s context as supporting the idea that a goal had been wrongly awarded due to a VAR error. This led to widespread public concern about the fairness of the officiating in the match.

The Details & Investigation

Upon examining the original Reuters Fact Check article, it becomes clear that the claim is based on a misinterpretation of the content. The article does not directly state that the VAR made a mistake in awarding a goal during the Manchester derby. Instead, it discusses a broader discussion among referees and officials about the challenges of using VAR in complex or fast-paced situations. The article references a statement from the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the governing body for referees in English football, which expressed concerns about the consistency of VAR decisions in certain scenarios.

Further investigation into the specific match in question reveals that the goal in question was initially awarded by the on-field referee, and there was no official review by the VAR team that led to a reversal or correction. According to reports from Sky Sports and BBC Sport, the referee did not consult VAR after the goal was scored, and no post-match investigation by the PGMOL found any evidence of an error in the decision-making process. Additionally, footage of the incident shows that the player who scored was in an offside position at the moment of the pass, which would have invalidated the goal under standard rules.

The claim also appears to conflate two separate issues: the general criticism of VAR systems and a specific instance of a disputed goal. While some referees have raised concerns about the complexity of VAR decisions, these are typically framed as calls for improvement rather than accusations of deliberate errors. There is no credible evidence to suggest that the referee body in question made a direct statement about a specific goal being incorrectly awarded in the Manchester derby. Therefore, the claim appears to be a case of misrepresentation or selective quotation, which may constitute either misinformation or disinformation depending on the intent behind its circulation.

The Verdict

The viral claim that VAR got a goal wrong in the Manchester derby, as stated by a referee body, is misleading and lacks sufficient evidence to support its accuracy. While the PGMOL has expressed concerns about the challenges of using VAR in certain match situations, there is no verified record of a specific statement attributing a goal award error to VAR in the referenced match. Furthermore, the match footage and official reports indicate that the goal was not awarded in accordance with the rules, suggesting that the initial decision was correct.

Given the lack of direct evidence linking the referee body to the claim and the absence of any official correction or reversal of the goal, this statement should be classified as MISLEADING. It reflects a misinterpretation of a broader debate about VAR, rather than a confirmed error in a specific match. The claim may have originated from a misunderstanding of the PGMOL’s statements or from intentional distortion to fuel public skepticism about the fairness of football officiating.

Counter-misinformation & disinformation investigation conducted by PolicyWire Editorial Desk (PW).