Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick says he still has faith in the video assistant referee – but added that the apology for the error that led to their defeat in the Manchester derby does not mean much.

Referee’s body Pro Ref issued a formal apology to United within three hours of the end of Manchester City‘s 1-0 victory at Old Trafford.

Neither VAR Matt Donohue nor his assistant Blake Antrobus have been selected for games this weekend after failing to spot City midfielder Enzo Fernandez clearly in an offside position and interfering with play before Erling Haaland’s matchwinner for City.

Carrick was livid after the game, saying it was a “worrying” interpretation of the rules.

And before his side’s Premier League trip to Fulham on Sunday, the United boss was asked if he still had faith in VAR.

“One-off things can happen,” he said.

“At the time it was a pretty big one, we know that. I don’t think I need to go over that. But yes, I’ve got faith in it. It’s the system we work towards and that we use.”

Referee’s chief Howard Webb has been heavily criticised over general officiating standards in the game.

Analysing the incident on ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’, Webb said he was “really disappointed” with the outcome, stating the officials had been too focused on a potential offside against Haaland and had failed to assess Fernandez’s position.

Webb has spoken to United about the situation in an effort to be more accountable.

“The apology doesn’t mean an awful lot,” said Carrick.

“I can appreciate and respect them putting their hands up and saying we got that wrong – it does happen. We just have to deal with it.

“Maybe we get one or two decisions on the law of averages or whatever but that one had a huge impact on the game and that’s why it was particularly tough.”

Carrick has backed central defender Leny Yoro despite his disappointing performance in the 3-2 Carabao Cup defeat by Brighton on Wednesday.

Yoro was linked with Real Madrid, Paris St-Germain and Liverpool when he joined United from Lille as an 18-year-old in July 2024.

The £52.2m fee underlined the faith United’s recruitment department had in Yoro’s potential.

So far though, it has been unfulfilled.

The 20-year-old has featured in 55 Premier League games, but 25 of those have been as a substitute. His only starts this term have been against Sabah FK in the Champions League and Brighton, when his positioning was called into question as the visitors became the first side to win at Old Trafford after trailing by two goals for over 50 years.

“I’ve got no worries for Leny,” said Carrick. “He’s got a fantastic future ahead of him.

“There’s no cut off point. Some players find when they’re 18 that they are at a level where they can really perform. Sometimes it’s 22, 23, 24 when you see players start developing.

“What we’ve got to be careful of, and I certainly won’t do, is making knee-jerk decisions on certain players just because of one game or one half or one moment in a game. We’ve got a lot of belief in Leny.”