Michael Carrick backs VAR and says derby error must not shape Manchester United's season

Michael Carrick has said he retains faith in VAR after a decision went against Manchester UnitedManchester UnitedPremier League · England3rd POS20–11–7 W-D-L in their home derby defeat by Manchester CityManchester CityPremier League · England2nd POS23–9–6 W-D-L. The United head coach also made clear that the error cannot be carried into the rest of the season.

The comments place Carrick on the opposite side of an argument he would have been entitled to join. A derby defeat at home, decided in part by a review, is the kind of result that often produces a manager calling the system itself into question. Instead he kept his backing for the process while treating the decision as a mistake that has to be absorbed and moved past.

2025/26

---

POS

3rd

W-D-L

20–11–7

GF

69

GA

50

Season 2025/26

Why the derby decision matters

Conman33 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Matches between Manchester United and Manchester City carry a weight that amplifies everything in them, and a call made by officials in a derby is remembered far longer than one in a routine fixture. The pressure created by those moments lands on the referees and the video officials as much as on the players.

Carrick's refusal to escalate his criticism is therefore the substance of the story. The review system keeps the public support of a coach who has just lost a match to a decision made with it, and that is a more durable defence of VAR than any statement issued by the bodies that run it.

What is not yet known

Ank kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0

The incident itself has not been set out step by step, and no account has been given of how the review reached its conclusion. United have not said publicly whether they have raised the matter formally, and no confirmation has come from the refereeing authorities that it will be looked at again.

It is also unclear when Carrick will next take questions on the defeat, or whether he will expand on how he believes the decision should have been handled. His remarks have not been released in full, so the exact shape of his argument has not been established.

What happens next for United

Carrick's central point is that one decision should not define a campaign, which shifts attention back to his own players. United were beaten at home in a derby, and results over the coming weeks will say more about their season than any debate about the review process.

The wider conversation about how review decisions are reached and explained will continue regardless, as it has after every comparable episode. Nothing in Carrick's position suggests he wants the system removed; his argument is about a single error, not the technology behind it.