Manchester City were left upset after Antoine Semenyo’s goal was ruled out for ‘subjective offside’ in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle. The former Bournemouth striker put the visitors ahead in the second half and thought he had doubled his tally when he kneed the ball over the line after a corner kick. However, his second goal was canceled out in a farcical twist after lengthy VAR intervention.
When Semenyo smashed the ball into the net, Erling Haaland stayed around the goalkeeper and the goal was checked for possible offside. The game was delayed for approximately five minutes as lines were drawn to determine if a violation had been committed. In the end, referee Chris Kavanagh was asked to conduct a pitchside review for a “subjective offside decision”.
He was also asked to consider the extent to which Haaland may have interfered with Newcastle defender Malik Thiaw’s ability to clear the ball.
Kavanagh ultimately opted to rule out the goal and there were scenes of wild celebrations at St James’ Park. City, meanwhile, were left furious after players complained and manager Josep Guardiola yelled abuse at them on the touchline.
Sky Sports commentator Chris Sutton was surprised by the decision and did not hesitate to share his thoughts on the current state of the game.
“I think that decision is incredible,” he said. “You know what happened in the stadium… there’s a bit of emotion at the moment. Newcastle got away with one point.
“I have to say, I think the match is over. Thiau was never going to react to that. That’s pure speculation on the part of the referee.”
Criticism from fans on social media was even harsher, with some Manchester United supporters claiming City had been robbed of a perfect goal.
@FrankEra_ wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “I hate City but if they’re using VAR for 5 minutes to rule out a goal then football is over.”
@StevenMcinerney added: “If you’re still supporting VAR at this point, you’re really just a nerd.”
@GRTourist was furious. “Offside or not, I can’t give it any more credit, but this is stupid. VAR is still complete dog shit. One of the worst things in the cesspool of modern top-flight football.”
@kevhpne wrote: “The clowns manipulating the VAR system are destroying the game. This is the worst decision I’ve ever seen.
“The referee’s pantomime of moving closer to the screen only slows things down further. It’s stupid and detracts from what was a great game for us.”
In the end, justice prevailed at St James’s Park and City scored another goal, but the stand was forgiven. Rayan Cherki found the back of the net in stoppage time to give the visitors a two-goal lead in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium next week.
