Carrick maintains faith in VAR despite Manchester derby error

Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick said he still has faith in VAR after video officials failed to spot an offside that led to Manchester City's 1-0 victory in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford, speaking before his side's Premier League trip to Fulham on Sunday.

The error involved City midfielder Enzo Fernandez being in an offside position and clearly interfering with play as Erling Haaland scored the matchwinner, and Referee's body Pro Ref issued a formal apology to United within three hours of the end of the game. Carrick described the interpretation of the law as "worrying" after the defeat.

Asked if he still had confidence in the system, Carrick said: "One-off things can happen. At the time it was a pretty big one, we know that. I don't think I need to go over that. But yes, I've got faith in it. It's the system we work towards and that we use."

On the apology from officials he added: "The apology doesn't mean an awful lot. I can appreciate and respect them putting their hands up and saying we got that wrong - it does happen. We just have to deal with it. Maybe we get one or two decisions on the law of averages or whatever but that one had a huge impact on the game and that's why it was particularly tough."

Referee's chief Howard Webb, who has been heavily criticised over general officiating standards in the game, analysed the incident on 'Match Officials Mic'd Up' and said he was "really disappointed" with the outcome. Webb said the officials had been too focused on a potential offside against Haaland and had failed to assess Fernandez's position, and he has spoken to United about the situation in an effort to be more accountable.

Leny Yoro's recent performances were also addressed by Carrick after the 3-2 Carabao Cup defeat by Brighton, with the club noting the defender has made 69 appearances for Manchester United. Yoro was linked with Real Madrid, Paris St-Germain and Liverpool when he joined United from Lille as an 18-year-old in July 2024 for a £52.2m fee.

The 20-year-old has featured in 55 Premier League games, but 25 of those have been as a substitute; his only starts this term have been against Sabah FK in the Champions League and Brighton, when his positioning was called into question as the visitors became the first side to win at Old Trafford after trailing by two goals for over 50 years.

Carrick defended Yoro's long-term prospects, saying: "I've got no worries for Leny. He's got a fantastic future ahead of him. There's no cut off point. Some players find when they're 18 that they are at a level where they can really perform. Sometimes it's 22, 23, 24 when you see players start developing. What we've got to be careful of, and I certainly won't do, is making knee-jerk decisions on certain players just because of one game or one half or one moment in a game. We've got a lot of belief in Leny."

Neither VAR Matt Donohue nor his assistant Blake Antrobus have been selected for games this weekend.