Jay Bothroyd has called on Howard Webb to appear live on Sky Sports and explain the VAR error that affected the Manchester derby. He wants Webb to address the decision directly rather than respond with a written statement.

"I need to say this, bring the camera on me. Howard Webb, come on this show when it's live and speak to us, because you need to explain to me so I can put you in the spotlight and ask you questions," he said.

Bothroyd also criticised how officiating errors are handled. He said the laws of the game are clear but are not being applied correctly, while repeated apologies without direct explanations are making the situation worse.

"There are laws there, and they're not being followed," he said. "The understanding, the interpretation... even on Sunday, they're saying sorry and trying to explain it, and they're digging themselves into a bigger hole."

Bothroyd also stressed how straightforward he believed the decision was.

“I'll put my money on it now and say this was the easiest decision I'll see all year, and it's four games in,” Bothroyd said.

He argued that the incident was not a difficult judgement call and should have been an easy decision for the officials.

What Went Wrong With VAR In The Manchester Derby

The decision Bothroyd referred to came during Manchester City's 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Erling Haaland scored the only goal shortly after the hour mark, with City already down to 10 men following Phil Foden's first-half red card.

Haaland's effort was initially ruled offside before VAR intervened and overturned the decision, ruling that Manchester United's Patrick Dorgu had played him onside. However, the review missed another detail in the same passage of play.

Enzo Fernandez was also offside and interfering with two United players, meaning the original offside call should have stood.

Pro Ref, the body responsible for professional refereeing standards, later admitted an “error of judgement” over the incident. The admission backed Bothroyd's criticism, as the mistake he questioned had already been acknowledged by the refereeing body.

Whether Howard Webb Will Respond To Bothroyd's Challenge

The VAR officials involved in the decision, Matt Donohue and Blake Antrobus, were stood down from Premier League appointments the following weekend. Pro Ref confirmed that neither official would return to officiating duty until October.

Webb has not yet appeared on Bothroyd's programme to respond to the criticism. He is scheduled to discuss the incident on “Match Officials: Mic'd Up,” which will air on Sky Sports and TNT Sports.