Howard Webb has explained the difference between John Stones’ goal for Manchester City against Wolves last season and Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort against City on Sunday. Both situations appeared almost identical: a corner was taken, an attacking player stood in an offside position close to the goalkeeper, the ball went into the net, and the assistant raised the flag.
However, VAR overturned the original decision at Molineux and allowed Stones’ goal to stand, while van Dijk’s header at the Etihad was ruled out.
Webb’s explanation for why the Stones goal counted
Speaking on Match Officials Mic’d Up, where the audio from Van Dijk’s incident was released, Webb was asked by Michael Owen why two seemingly similar events were judged differently.
According to the PGMOL boss, the decisive factor in the Wolves match was that the ball passed directly over goalkeeper José Sá and not over Bernardo Silva, who was offside. Webb argued that Silva moved away from the flight of the ball and did nothing that affected Sá’s ability to play it. In contrast, Webb claimed that in the Liverpool incident, the ball passed over Andy Robertson, who ducked, supposedly blocking Donnarumma’s line of sight.
Webb added that if Silva had been in the ball’s path and forced Sá to hesitate, the goal would likely have been disallowed.
Criticism of Webb’s reasoning
Many fans have dismissed Webb’s explanation. Replays of City’s goal against Wolves show Silva stepping toward Sá and making contact before moving aside — a much clearer case of interference than Robertson’s minimal involvement with Donnarumma on Sunday.
Instead of calming Liverpool supporters, Webb’s comments have only intensified frustration. Once again, fans are left baffled by how Premier League officials justify such decisions and seem unwilling to address the inconsistency in refereeing standards.
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