The decision to rule out a Manchester City goal for offside during Tuesday’s Carabao Cup match against Newcastle took longer because the semi-automated offside technology could not be applied in that situation.
A review lasting over five minutes concluded that Erling Haaland was offside, having interfered with play by obstructing defender Malick Thiaw. Consequently, referee Chris Kavanagh disallowed what would have been a second goal of the evening for City’s new recruit Antoine Semenyo.
According to the Press Association, the review process would have been much swifter if the semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) had been operational. However, the number of players in the penalty area during the incident prevented its use.
Officials had to resort to the previous method of using crosshairs due to the crowded situation in the box. The Premier League refers to such instances where SAOT cannot be implemented as “edge cases.”
Following the match, City manager Pep Guardiola expressed his frustration over perceived inconsistencies in VAR usage, recalling that Newcastle’s winning goal against City in November was also confirmed after a prolonged offside check.
Guardiola also pointed out that City should have been awarded two penalties during that match—one for a handball in the 20th minute and another for a foul on Phil Foden in the 60th minute.
The Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel, which examines such calls, concluded that a penalty should have been given for the challenge on Foden.
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Guardiola mentioned that Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer at Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), would reach out to him for an “explanation” concerning the Haaland offside, but there has been no immediate update from either PGMOL or City regarding any communication.
Webb has previously made contact with clubs when clear mistakes have occurred, but this situation appears to be different.