The 74,161 supporters packed into Old Trafford were left entirely in the dark when referee Michael Oliver allowed Erling Haaland's goal to stand, even though another Manchester City player had in fact been in an offside position in the build-up. After City's 1-0 win, English football's refereeing body formally admitted the error made against Manchester United. Howard Webb, who has led Premier League refereeing since 2022, promised greater transparency on taking the role, yet the fan inside the stadium still could not hear how the decision was reached.
In the wake of the incident, the International Football Association Board, known as IFAB, and FIFA both issued an official refusal to broadcast video assistant referee (VAR) audio live. Putting those recordings out in real time would be "chaotic", IFAB secretary Lukas Brud argued. Tellingly, approaches across Europe's leagues diverge sharply on this point: Spain's La Liga releases audio from the VAR room within a few hours of full-time, while Italy's Serie A has abandoned the practice altogether, citing the added psychological pressure it placed on its referees.
