Worst VAR decisions in Premier League history: Five errors referees admitted

By Calum Burrowes | 14 Sep 2026 12:26, Last updated: 14 Sep 2026 13:48

VAR was first introduced to the Premier League with the aim of eliminating clear and obvious errors, but the technology has been at the centre of some of the competition's most controversial moments. 

While plenty of VAR decisions remain a matter of interpretation, there have also been several occasions when the refereeing authorities themselves admitted the mistakes that had been made. 

Following the latest controversy in Sunday's Manchester derby, when Pro Ref admitted that VAR made an error in allowing Erling Haaland's winning goal to stand, Sports Mole looks back at five of the most significant VAR mistakes in Premier League history. 

One of the latest major VAR controversies came during Sunday's Manchester derby, when Erling Haaland's goal gave Manchester City a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford. 

The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but VAR intervened and determined that Haaland had been played onside by United defender Patrick Dorgu. 

However, the controversy centered on Enzo Fernandez, who was also in an offside position and appeared to attempt to play the ball before it reached the Norwegian forward. 

VAR decided that the Manchester City midfielder was not interfering with play, allowing the goal to stand and giving Enzo Maresca's side a crucial victory despite playing for more than an hour with 10 men, following Phil Foden's red card. 

The refereeing body has since acknowledged that referee Michael Oliver should have been asked to conduct an on-field review because the incident involved a subjective judgement over whether Fernandez had interfered with play. 

With the decision directly affecting the outcome of one of English football's biggest fixtures, the incident immediately entered the conversation surrounding the Premier League's most significant VAR errors. 

With the Hammers trailing 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, Maxwel Cornet appeared to have rescued a point when he converted after Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy failed to hold the ball. 

However, VAR Jarred Gillett advised referee Andrew Madley to review a collision between Mendy and Jarrod Bowen in the build-up. 

Madley subsequently overturned the goal, ruling that Bowen had fouled Mendy and denying West Ham what would have been a valuable point.

The decision was heavily criticised, with Hammers boss David Moyes describing it as "scandalous", while replays appeared to show minimal contact between Bowen and the goalkeeper.

PGMOL later accepted that the VAR decision had been wrong, placing the incident among the most significant errors made by the technology since its introduction to the Premier League. 

The controversy also highlighted one of the biggest concerns surrounding VAR at the time: whether video officials were intervening in situations where the original decision should have been allowed to stand. 

On the same weekend as another incident on our list, Brighton & Hove Albion suffered an extraordinary VAR error during their 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.

Pervis Estupinan appeared to give Brighton the lead when he found the net in the first half, only for VAR John Brooks to intervene and rule the Ecuadorian offside. 

However, the offside line had been drawn from Palace defender James Tomkins rather than Marc Guehi, who was positioned behind his teammate and would have played Estupinan onside. 

Had the correct line been drawn, the goal would have stood. 

PGMOL subsequently contacted the Seagulls to acknowledge the "significant errors" in the VAR process, confirming that the mistake was caused by human error. 

Brighton accepted the apology, but the error remained particularly striking because the technology had been used to make a decision that could have been corrected simply by drawing the line from the correct defender. 

Brooks was stood down for two matches following the error, highlighting the seriousness of the mistake. 

Arsenal were denied a crucial victory over Brentford in February 2023 after VAR failed to properly check whether Christian Norgaard was offside in the build-up to Ivan Toney's equaliser. 

The Gunners had been leading 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium when Toney headed Brentford level in the 74th minute. 

VAR Lee Mason checked the goal for a potential foul by Ethan Pinnock on Gabriel, but failed to draw the offside lines that would have established whether Norgaard had been beyond the last defender. 

Norgaard was subsequently shown to have been in an offside position, meaning the goal should have been disallowed. 

The incident proved costly for Mikel Arteta's side, who dropped two points in the title race, with the Arsenal boss later saying that he wanted those points back.

The error was made even more significant by the fact it occurred on the same day as Brighton's disallowed goal against Crystal Palace, with PGMOL later issuing a joint statement acknowledging the errors made in both matches. 

PGMOL chief refereeing officer Howard Webb later apologised to Arsenal, while Mason left the organisation by mutual consent just days later. 

Perhaps the most infamous VAR error in Premier League history came during Tottenham's 2-1 victory over Liverpool in September 2023, when Luis Diaz had a perfectly good goal incorrectly ruled out for offside. 

Diaz was flagged for offside after putting Liverpool ahead in the first half, but VAR failed to overturn the decision despite the Colombian being clearly played onside by Cristian Romero. 

The VAR team mistakenly believed that the on-field decision had been to award the goal, leading to a bizarre situation in which the check was completed without the correct offside being communicated.

PGMOL later admitted that a "significant human error" had occurred, describing the original call as a "clear and obvious factual error" that should have resulted in the goal being awarded. 

The incident was particularly damaging because Liverpool ultimately lost 2-1, while the match also featured a controversial red card shown to Curtis Jones. 

PGMOL subsequently released the audio from the VAR room, revealing the moment the officials realised that they had misunderstood the on-field decision. 

The organisation's admission made the incident one of the clearest examples of VAR failing not because of a difficult interpretation, but because the officials fundamentally misunderstood what decision had been made on the pitch. 

For that reason, Diaz's disallowed goal remains one of the most extraordinary VAR mistakes in Premier League history.

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