Enzo Maresca's Response to VAR Controversy in Manchester Derby
Enzo Maresca is not in the mood for apologies.
Days after Pro Ref admitted that Erling Haaland’s winning goal in the Manchester derby should have been ruled out, the Manchester City manager turned the spotlight straight back on the officials – and on their memory.
Maresca bites back
Pro Ref’s review concluded that Enzo Fernandez had interfered with play in the build-up to Haaland’s decisive strike at Old Trafford, prompting referees’ chief Howard Webb to express regret over the VAR call. It was the kind of swift, public contrition managers often demand and rarely receive.
Maresca remembers a time when City got nothing of the sort.
He went straight to January 2023. Same stadium. Same rivalry. Very similar controversy.
That afternoon, Marcus Rashford chased a Casemiro through ball from a clearly offside position. He never touched it, but he dragged City’s back line with him before Bruno Fernandes swept in a 78th‑minute equaliser. United went on to win the derby 2-1, the goal standing despite furious City protests that Rashford had clearly interfered.
Maresca, then Pep Guardiola’s assistant, has not forgotten the silence that followed.
“I think sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it goes against you,” he told reporters ahead of City’s League Cup tie with Norwich City. “Three years ago when I was here it happened exactly the same against Man United. We lost the derby there. The goal was not a regular goal, if you remember. To be honest, no-one apologised. We are still waiting for the apology for that goal."
The message was blunt. If Webb is going to front up now, where was that transparency when City felt wronged?
Double standards and a missed story
For Maresca, this is not just about one decision. It is about consistency. About who gets an explanation and who is left to stew.
His irritation runs deeper than a technical argument over “active interference”. He is angered that the debate has smothered what he sees as one of the defining performances of City’s season so far.
City played the bulk of Sunday’s derby with 10 men after Phil Foden’s red card, yet still found the resolve and quality to win at Old Trafford. In Maresca’s eyes, that should have been the headline.
“Talking about one episode or one moment after that game when we played for 70, 75 minutes with 10 players I think is … I don’t know the right word, I think it’s quite poor," he said. "The second-half performance was unbelievable."
He wanted the focus on resilience, structure, mentality. Instead, the conversation veered back to VAR lines and slow-motion replays.
VAR storm over a flying start
The irony is that the controversy arrives just as the Maresca era at the Etihad Stadium is beginning to take shape with ruthless clarity.
City have opened their Premier League campaign with five wins from five. They look sharp, organised and hungry, the transition from Guardiola to Maresca far smoother than many expected in the early weeks.
Winning a derby away from home, a man down for more than an hour, should have underlined that progress. It should have framed City as early-season pace-setters with an extra layer of steel.
Instead, the VAR fallout hangs over the result, threatening to drain attention from a team that has barely put a foot wrong.
Maresca is determined not to let it drag his players off course. The Italian insisted his tactical approach will remain the same, even with no VAR in use in the early rounds of the League Cup. No safety net. No second look. No excuses.
Rotation, but no easing off
Norwich City arrive at the Etihad on Thursday night, offering a brief change of rhythm from the Premier League grind. The schedule is already tightening, and Maresca is expected to shuffle his pack, protecting key figures for what lies ahead.
The standards, though, will not soften. With a perfect league record to defend and momentum firmly with them, City know that any drop in intensity can quickly invite rivals back into the picture.
After Norwich, Sunderland visit Manchester on Sunday. Another home game, another chance to extend that flawless domestic start, another opportunity to turn pressure into daylight at the top.
The noise around VAR will rage on. The apologies may come late, or not at all.
Maresca’s stance is clear: let others argue over the past. His City side intend to make the next set of decisions – on the pitch, not in the replay booth – impossible to ignore.
