Matt Donohue: Facts about referee behind Manchester derby VAR controversy

Matt Donohue’s controversial role in Manchester City’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United has placed the Premier League video assistant referee under intense scrutiny, with his previous encounters with the Old Trafford club now attracting renewed attention.

Donohue was the VAR at Old Trafford on Sunday, September 13, 2026, when Erling Haaland’s second-half goal was allowed to stand after an initial offside decision had been overturned.

The decision was later acknowledged as an error by Pro Ref, the organisation responsible for overseeing Premier League match officials. According to the refereeing body, the VAR failed to recognise the influence of Manchester City midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who was in an offside position and attempted to play the ball before Haaland scored.

Donohue and assistant VAR Blake Antrobus were subsequently stood down from the following round of Premier League fixtures, with their availability set to be reconsidered after the international break.

The incident has prompted questions about Donohue’s previous dealings with Manchester United, although there is no evidence from the sources reviewed that he has any allegiance to either Manchester club.

Who is Matt Donohue?

Donohue, originally from Southend, moved to the Greater Manchester area more than a decade ago. Before turning professional as a referee, he worked as a teacher at Greswell Primary School in Denton.

He spent eight years at the school overseeing its sports provision before becoming a full-time referee in 2019. He had already progressed rapidly through the English football pyramid and established himself as a Championship official before making his Premier League refereeing debut.

His first Premier League match as a referee came in May 2024 when he took charge of Bournemouth’s meeting with Brentford. The match generated controversy, with Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola criticising Donohue’s performance after several major decisions.

Donohue subsequently became increasingly involved in Premier League VAR appointments.

His previous decisions involving Manchester United

Donohue has already been involved in a number of significant Manchester United matches as a VAR.

One of the most notable came in February 2025 during United’s 2-2 draw with Everton at Goodison Park. Referee Andy Madley initially awarded Everton a late penalty after Ashley Young went down following contact involving Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt.

Donohue, operating as VAR, recommended that Madley review the decision at the pitchside monitor. Madley subsequently overturned the penalty.

The decision generated considerable debate because the penalty would have given Everton an opportunity to win the match. However, the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents panel later concluded that Donohue’s intervention was correct.

Donohue was also VAR during Manchester United’s 4-3 defeat by Brentford in May 2025. The Premier League’s official match report lists him as the VAR for that game.

His involvement with United therefore predates Sunday’s derby controversy and has included both decisions that went against the club and decisions that ultimately benefited them.

The Harry Maguire connection

The most direct recent link between Donohue and Manchester United came in March 2026, when he was the fourth official during United’s Premier League match against Bournemouth.

Maguire was sent off in the 78th minute after being adjudged to have denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Following confirmation of the decision through VAR, Maguire approached Donohue as he left the pitch.

Donohue subsequently submitted an Extraordinary Incident Report to the Football Association.

In the report, he stated that Maguire told him: “You’re a joke. You’re all a fucking joke.”

Maguire disputed the precise wording, saying he had said something along the lines of “it is a fucking joke” and insisting that he did not call Donohue or another official a joke. A Manchester United witness, Joshua Zirkzee, similarly said he remembered words along the lines of “it is a joke” or “what a joke”, but could not recall the exact wording.

The FA disciplinary commission ultimately preferred Donohue’s account. It noted that his report had been produced shortly after the match and that he had raised the matter immediately. The commission concluded that Maguire had acted improperly and imposed a one-match suspension and a £30,000 fine.

That episode means Donohue was not merely an official who happened to work on a United match. He became the subject of a formal disciplinary case involving one of United’s senior defenders.

Why Sunday’s decision has made the history relevant

The Haaland incident has brought all of those previous interactions back into focus because Donohue’s decision directly affected United in the Manchester derby.

Haaland’s goal initially appeared to have been ruled out for offside. The VAR review established that Haaland himself was onside, but the review failed to properly account for Fernandez’s offside position and his attempt to influence the play.

Pro Ref subsequently acknowledged that the VAR should have recognised the likely impact of Fernandez’s position and recommended an on-field review.

United therefore lost the match to a goal that the refereeing authorities later accepted should not have been allowed.

The club, however, has not demanded further action against Donohue. Reports indicate United regarded the Pro Ref statement acknowledging the mistake as sufficient.

Is there evidence of a conflict of interest?

This is where the distinction between documented facts and speculation is important.

Donohue’s connection to Greater Manchester is genuine. He moved to the region more than 10 years ago and worked for eight years at Greswell Primary School in Denton. He is also associated with the Manchester Football Association.

However, those facts alone do not demonstrate support for Manchester City or hostility towards Manchester United.

There have been claims on social media that Greswell had links to Manchester City’s community programmes and that this creates a potential conflict of interest. I could not find sufficiently reliable evidence establishing that Donohue personally had a financial, professional or sporting relationship with Manchester City that would amount to a conflict of interest.

Likewise, there is no credible evidence in the material reviewed that Donohue is a Manchester City supporter.

The more defensible conclusion is therefore that Donohue has a geographical and professional connection to Greater Manchester, rather than an established allegiance to Manchester City.

United’s relationship with Donohue

Ironically, Donohue’s record involving Manchester United does not show a consistent pattern of decisions favouring or hurting the club.

His intervention in the Everton match helped United avoid a potentially damaging late penalty, and that intervention was subsequently backed by the Premier League’s KMI panel.

He was also involved in United’s 4-3 defeat at Brentford as VAR, before becoming the fourth official in the Maguire-Bournemouth incident.

Now, months later, he has been involved in the most contentious United-related VAR decision of the season after allowing Haaland’s derby winner to stand.

That makes his relationship with Manchester United complicated, but not necessarily suspicious.

The clearest documented connection is that Donohue has repeatedly officiated United matches, has been involved in major VAR decisions affecting the club and became directly involved in a disciplinary dispute with Maguire.

The latest controversy, however, is significant enough that Pro Ref has accepted responsibility for the error and temporarily removed Donohue from Premier League appointments.

For Manchester United, the issue is therefore less about Donohue’s personal background and more about whether the VAR system can ensure that officials with previous contentious encounters with a club continue to make decisions that are transparent, consistent and beyond reasonable doubt.