Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick has expressed his faith in the video assistant referee (VAR) system despite a high-profile error in the Manchester derby. This comes after referee's body Pro Ref issued a formal apology to United within three hours of the end of Manchester City's 1-0 victory at Old Trafford.
Competition · 2026-09-19 21:42:56
This article was assembled with AI assistance and editorially reviewed.
This story discusses unconfirmed interpretations. Speculation is identified clearly and should not be read as established fact.
BBC Football reports that Carrick was asked if he still had faith in VAR, to which he replied: "One-off things can happen." He added that the apology does not mean much, stating that "it does happen" and that the team must deal with it. The United boss also acknowledged that the error had a huge impact on the game, but maintained that he still has faith in the system.
Carrick's comments come after VAR officials Matt Donohue and Blake Antrobus were not selected for games this weekend following their failure to spot Manchester City midfielder Enzo Fernandez in an offside position and interfering with play before Erling Haaland's matchwinner for City.