Jay Bothroyd praised for giving the perfect response to use of VAR for controversial Manchester derby goal

Sky Sports pundit Jay Bothroyd has been praised for calling out former Premier League official Dermot Gallagher for his view on Erling Haaland's controversial winner in the Manchester derby.

Manchester City, who were reduced to 10 men after Phil Foden kicked out at Bruno Fernandes in the first half, broke the deadlock on the hour mark through Haaland.

The Norwegian's goal was initially flagged as offside before VAR overturned it for ruling that City's goal machine was, in fact, being played onside by Man United left-back Patrick Dorgu. But Pro Ref, the governing body responsible for overseeing professional refereeing, admitted that there was an "error of judgement" in allowing Haaland's winner to stand.

READ NEXT: Pro Ref admits in bombshell statement that decision to award Erling Haaland's goal vs Man Utd was a mistake

Jay Bothroyd praised for calling out Dermot Gallagher live on air

That error of judgement came from VAR deciding to let the goal stand, even though Enzo Fernandez was in an offside position when he attempted to play the ball before it arrived at Haaland's boot.

Although Fernandez didn't touch the ball, many felt his movement distracted Lisandro Martinez from blocking Gvardiol's deflected cross.

Joe Hart was in disbelief that the goal was allowed to stand, citing the "letter of the law" as the main reason, while former Cardiff City striker Jay Bothroyd has received praise for a similar take.

"Some of these people that are making the decisions, they've never played the game before," Bothroyd told Sky Sports.

"I don't like saying these things, but I will. Players make mistakes and they get reprimanded.

"Officials need to do the same thing. There needs to be some kind of punishment because saying 'I'm sorry' isn't good enough, especially if they're not saying sorry on camera.

"It's just a statement, and it's poor."

Bothroyd then asked former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher for an explanation, and instead of backing the majority, he excused the officials for a "loss of focus".

"In my view, the more palatable decision is offside because he has clearly impacted on two United players.

"For whatever reason, they have lost focus; they were concentrating too much on whether Fernandez had touched the ball and forgotten to see if he had impacted two United players."

Similarly to Hart, Bothroyd was praised for his take on the controversial call, with one fan writing: "Jay Bothroyd is GOATed for calling out Howard Webb on live TV."

"Lol if they are losing focus, they should be losing their jobs. Simple!!!!" another exclaimed in response to Gallagher's claim.

"Howard Webb said it would never happen again, and it happened again on the same stadium. Madness. These PGMOL/ Pro Ref or whatever they call themselves should be disbanded. It is unacceptable," someone else pointed out.

READ NEXT: Premier League make decision over Manchester derby official after Erling Haaland controversy

Matt Donohue axed from Premier League match officials list for Matchweek five

Matt Donohue was on VAR duty for the heated clash at Old Trafford, and he hasn't been included - in any capacity - on the Premier League's list of match officials for Matchweek five.

It's a common move for the Premier League to make when a referee is involved in significant scrutiny, though a reason for Donohue's exclusion hasn't been given.

Match referee Michael Oliver, meanwhile, will take charge of Bournemouth versus Liverpool at the Vitality Stadium this weekend after not being sent to the VAR screen to assess the incident.