Howard Webb, English football's chief refereeing officer, has criticised the accidental handball law as "a bit of a nonsense" and called for it to be reformed, arguing it forces referees into "ridiculous" judgement calls. Speaking on Match Officials Mic'd Up, he also addressed the VAR error that allowed Manchester City's controversial winner against Manchester United on Sunday, saying he was "really disappointed" that officials failed to spot an offside infringement in the build-up to the goal.

Webb pointed to an incident at Manchester United, where a shot from Harry Maguire that struck his hand before deflecting in off Jacob Greaves for an own goal, to illustrate the law's inconsistency: had Maguire scored directly, the goal would have been disallowed, but because it went in off another player it stood. He argued officials should instead judge only whether a genuine handball offence occurred. On the Manchester derby, Webb said VAR Matt Donohue suffered "tunnel vision" by focusing on Erling Haaland rather than Enzo Fernández's offside position, leading Pro Ref to admit "an error of judgment"; Donohue and his assistant Blake Antrobus have been stood down until after the international break.