14 January 2023 , 20:00
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A former professional referee believes Bruno Fernandes' controversial goal in Saturday afternoon's Manchester Derby should have been disallowed for offside.
Manchester United defeated local rivals Manchester City 2-1 at Old Trafford thanks to goals from Fernandes and Marcus Rashford. Jack Grealish opened the scoring for the visitors, but the hosts rallied late on to snatch a crucial Premier League win.
The result has been overshadowed by Fernandes' goal. Rashford was in an offside position during the build-up to the strike, but referee Stuart Attwell believed the United forward was not interfering with play. Ex-referee Des Roache, however, disagrees with that view.
"Rashford should have been called offside, he deliberately interfered with play," Roache, who referred in the Scottish Professional Football League, told Grosvenor Sport. "From my perspective, Rashford should have been called offside.
"He's running alongside the ball to misguide Manchester City players, but that does not come into the laws of the game. I would say Rashford is interfering with play because deliberately was involved and had moved towards the ball, but because he did not touch the ball I can only assume the match referee was not interfering.
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"If I was officiating that game, the goal would not have stood. By the laws of the game, the Bruno Fernandes goal is not offside because the referee has interpreted that Marcus Rashford is not interfering with the ball and stopping a Man City player from claiming the ball."
Marcus Rashford was in an offside position during the build-up to Manchester United's equaliser... but the goal stood (Twitter/@btsportfootball)Do you think Bruno Fernandes' goal should have stood? Let us know in the comments below!
Roache is also concerned the Old Trafford crowd could have swayed Attwell's difficult decision. "I hope the crowd in the game did not affect the referee's decision," he added. "If you're being swayed by a crowd at that level, it's not good officiating.
"You have to blank those things out. In games like this, the referee should focus purely on the game and not be affected by the crowd."
Former Premier League referee Peter Walton, who analyses questionable refereeing decisions for BT Sport, believes Attwell was right to award Fernandes' goal. He said as the incident unfolded: "Well, let's just say I thought this was a goal."
Walton went on to say: Rashford has made a move for the ball [but] hasn't interfered with an opponent in play with the ball [and] hasn't played the ball himself. [It's] quite right the flag goes up because of the offside position, but when VAR look at this - and when the assistant discusses it with Stuart Attwell - I think the goal will stand."
Stuart Pearce shares a similar view to Walton. "Well listen, you try to get your head round the rules, he didn’t touch the ball he chased it," he told talkSPORT. "It’s a real strange one. But that’s the nature of the game. City only have themselves to blame."
Yet other pundits agree with Roache. Chelsea legend Petr Cech tweeted: "The first United goal just proved the people who make the rules don't understand the game."