Maresca's Frustration with VAR Apologies After Derby Win
Enzo Maresca is not in the mood for apologies – at least not selective ones.
Days after Pro Ref admitted that Erling Haaland’s decisive goal in the Manchester derby should have been ruled out, the Manchester City manager hit back, accusing officials of double standards and a skewed sense of accountability.
Maresca’s anger at ‘selective’ regret
Pro Ref’s review concluded that Enzo Fernandez had actively interfered with play in the build-up to Haaland’s strike at Old Trafford, prompting refereeing chief Howard Webb to go public with his regret over the VAR process.
That admission landed badly at the Etihad.
Maresca, speaking ahead of City’s League Cup tie with Norwich City, immediately reached for a painful reference point: January 2023, the derby City still feel was stolen from them.
That day, with Maresca on the bench as Pep Guardiola’s assistant, Marcus Rashford chased a Casemiro pass from a clearly offside position. He never touched the ball, but his run dragged City’s back line out of shape. Bruno Fernandes swept in the equaliser on 78 minutes and United went on to win 2-1.
No offside. No intervention. No apology.
“I think sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it goes against you,” Maresca said. “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 were on the wrong end of a season-shaping call?
Heroic display, overshadowed
What really grates on Maresca is not just the inconsistency, but the timing.
His side had just produced one of the most defiant derby wins of the modern era. Phil Foden’s red card left City a man down for the bulk of the contest – around 70 to 75 minutes with 10 players at Old Trafford – yet they still found the resolve and quality to win it.
To Maresca, that should be the story.
“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.”
City’s manager wanted the narrative to be about resilience, control, and a team that refused to bend under pressure. Instead, the conversation has been dragged back to VAR lines, freeze-frames and retrospective mea culpas.
VAR storm meets flying start
The VAR fallout now hangs awkwardly over what has been a blistering start to the Maresca era.
City have torn into the new Premier League season, winning all five of their opening fixtures. They look sharp, ruthless, and already ominous to anyone with designs on their title.
Winning at Old Trafford with 10 men only hardened that impression. It spoke of a squad that not only trusts the new manager’s ideas but can execute them under extreme stress.
Maresca, though, has no intention of letting the officiating noise seep into his dressing room. His focus, he insists, stays on performance and continuity, even as the competition format changes.
There will be no VAR safety net in the early rounds of the League Cup. The Italian is not planning to tweak his approach for that.
Rotation, but no let-up
Norwich City arrive at the Etihad on Thursday, offering a brief step away from the Premier League glare but not from the demands of a packed schedule.
With a perfect league record to protect and the fixtures beginning to stack up, Maresca is expected to rotate heavily. Key players will be managed, minutes will be shared, but the standards will not soften. Not in this squad. Not under this manager.
Once Norwich are dealt with, the attention swings straight back to the league. Sunderland visit the Etihad on Sunday, another opportunity for City to stretch their flawless domestic run and keep the chasing pack at arm’s length.
The arguments over VAR will roll on. The apologies may or may not come.
Maresca’s stance is clear: if the officiating narrative keeps circling his team, it will do so in the shadow of a side that keeps winning.
