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Maresca defends VAR while lamenting row dominating win at Manchester United

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Reuters. (2026, September 16). Maresca defends VAR while lamenting row dominating win at Manchester United. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/9/16/maresca-defends-var-while-lamenting-row-dominating-win-at-manchester-united?traffic_source=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Al Jazeera · collected 2026-09-16 · by Reuters

Quick Summary

Enzo Maresca, Manchester City manager, addressed criticism over the VAR call that led to Erling Haaland's winning goal against Manchester United in a 1-0 victory, arguing that his team’s performance with ten men should be recognized. He defended the use of VAR despite admitting its errors and referenced an earlier controversial incident from January 2023 where City lost due to what they consider an incorrect offside decision not rectified by VAR.
Written by AI on 2026-09-16, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Michael Carrick, the head coach of Manchester United, faced increased pressure after his team suffered a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in a match marred by a controversial VAR decision. Despite playing with an extra man for much of the game due to Phil Foden's early red card, United failed to capitalize on this advantage and struggled to create scoring opportunities. Carrick made tactical changes during the match that were criticized by former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, who believed bringing on striker Benjamin Sesko earlier would have been more beneficial.

The controversy centered around Erling Haaland’s winning goal, which was initially ruled out for offside but then allowed following a rushed VAR review where Enzo Fernandez was incorrectly deemed not to be in an offside position. This error significantly impacted the game's outcome and led to criticism of the VAR system's efficiency versus accuracy.

Despite these setbacks, Carrick maintains support from his club, with journalist Fabrizio Romano stating that Man Utd remains fully behind their coach. However, Carrick acknowledged the importance of addressing such critical decisions, emphasizing that while one-off errors can occur, he still has faith in the VAR system despite its recent flaws.

United's performance dropped significantly after this loss, accumulating only four points from their first four Premier League matches, raising questions about Carrick’s future and the club's transfer window strategy aimed at strengthening their squad.

Written for “Manchester United Management Controve…” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Manchester United Management Controve…
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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
60/100
Al Jazeera's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
5
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-16 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Al Jazeera · 4580 article(s) · 2 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 2 correction(s)
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Reuters
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Topics

City Manchester City Manchester United Norwegian VAR

Subjects

City ORG · 3× Manchester United ORG · 3× Maresca PERSON · 3× Enzo Maresca PERSON · 1× Erling Haaland’s PERSON · 1× Haaland PERSON · 1× Manchester City ORG · 1× Norwegian NORP · 1× Pro Ref ORG · 1× VAR ORG · 1×

Narrative

The City boss also pointed to a controversial decision in a 2-1 defeat by Manchester United in January 2023, saying the club was still waiting for an apology after Fernandes scored despite Marcus Rashford being in an offside position.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-16
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2026-09-16 · Al Jazeera
Maresca defends VAR while lamenting row dominating win at Manchester United · assertive framing

Claims (18 extracted, 1 hedged)

Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca said the debate surrounding the VAR decision that awarded Erling Haaland’s winning goal against Manchester United should not overshadow his side’s 10-man performance in the 1-0 derby victory. asserted
that → say → victory
Haaland’s second-half strike on Sunday was initially ruled out for offside, but was awarded following a VAR review that judged the Norwegian to be onside. asserted
Norwegian → rule → review
Refereeing body Pro Ref later acknowledged that VAR had been wrong to allow the decisive goal. asserted
VAR → referee → goal
Recommended Stories list of 4 items- list 1 of 4FIFA says review of shelved investment plan to be presented to Council - list 2 of 4Lionel Messi set for Argentina farewell in October 6 friendly against Benin - list 3 of 4Ed Sheeran blames US tour promoter for dropping Macklemore - list 4 of 4Eto’o could face Cameroon probe over alleged Russia payment City were reduced to 10 men in the 23rd minute when Phil Foden was sent off for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes but held on to secure the win. uncertain
Foden → say → win
“To talk about one moment after that game when we played for 70, 75 minutes with 10 players is quite poor. asserted
we → talk → players
I think the performance was unbelievable and I’m pleased,” Maresca told reporters on Wednesday before Thursday’s League Cup third-round tie against Norwich City. asserted
Maresca → think → City
“There is knowledge that there was a mistake and that’s all. asserted
that → be → ?
Sometimes, it goes for you. asserted
it → go → you
The City boss also pointed to a controversial decision in a 2-1 defeat by Manchester United in January 2023, saying the club was still waiting for an apology after Fernandes scored despite Marcus Rashford being in an offside position. asserted
Rashford → point → position
“Three years ago when I was here, it happened the exact same against Manchester United. asserted
it → happen → United
The goal was not a regular goal, and no one apologised. asserted
one → apologise → ?
We are still waiting for the apology for that,” he said. asserted
he → wait → that
Maresca also defended the VAR officials who, he said, often have little time to make difficult decisions and mistakes were, therefore, inevitable. asserted
mistakes → defend → decisions
“Sometimes, they go for you, the decisions, sometimes, they go against you,” he said. asserted
he → go → you
“But also it’s not easy, I think, for the VAR, for the people that are in front of the screen, and in 10 seconds, 20 seconds they have to make a decision. asserted
they → ’ → decision
“It’s not easy for them. asserted
It → ’ → them
Sometimes, they make some mistakes. asserted
they → make → mistakes
I make mistakes; players make mistakes; I think it’s part of our job.” asserted
it → make → job
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