Jay Bothroyd, the former Cardiff City and Wolverhampton Wanderers striker, has gone viral for calling out Howard Webb live on Sky Sports, accusing the Pro Ref chief of presiding over "unacceptable" refereeing decisions after a Manchester derby controversy.
The row centred on Erling Haaland's winning goal, which was allowed to stand despite Enzo Fernandez clearly being offside in the build-up. VAR officials Matt Donohue and Blake Antrobus have since been stood down from duty for this weekend as a result of the fallout.
Bothroyd clashed on air with former top-level referee Dermot Gallagher, who insisted match officials "know the law inside out". "Why did they get it wrong then?" Bothroyd shot back.
Bothroyd's on-air outburst
When told the officials had likely "lost focus", a frustrated Bothroyd replied: "This is the thing. To me, that is unacceptable. You can't lose focus. That is their job. Their only job is to look at this - they are under no pressure, they are in a room.
"There is more than one (VAR official). They need to be getting that right, it's as simple as that. And to be saying sorry afterwards, that's not good enough. Let's be real here - Michael Carrick is under pressure now. He could lose his job because of them making a bad decision and saying sorry. 'Sorry, Michael, we've made a bad decision, but you've been sacked.'"
Sky then played a clip of Webb saying a similar goal scored by Manchester United in the derby three years earlier "shouldn't happen again".
Bothroyd continued: "First of all, I need to say this, put the camera on me. Howard Webb, come on this show when it's live and speak to us, because you need to explain to us, so I can put you in the spotlight and ask you questions.
"You need to come and speak to me live on this show about this incident. Because I need to know this. We keep on hearing all these things, and I don't understand them.
"There are laws there, and they are not being followed. The understanding. The interpretation. Even yesterday (in the derby), they are saying sorry then trying to explain it and they are digging themselves a bigger hole.
"I don't understand it. I will put my money on it now and say it - this is the easiest decision I'm going to see all year and it's four games in."
The Manchester derby flashpoint
Haaland's goal was allowed to stand despite Fernandez appearing to be offside as the move developed.
Fernandez moved to head the ball, clearly impacting United defender Lisandro Martinez and goalkeeper Senne Lammens, before Haaland found space to score.
Webb and Gallagher's roles
Webb is a former Premier League referee who took charge of the 2010 World Cup final before moving into refereeing administration, where he now oversees England's match officials as Pro Ref chief. Gallagher, also a former top-flight referee, appears alongside Bothroyd on Sky Sports' Ref Watch segment, where contentious decisions are regularly reviewed.
Support for Bothroyd
Despite Gallagher's protests, Bothroyd received widespread support for his comments. One fan wrote on X: "Jay Bothroyd calling out Howard Webb on live TV was cinema. GOATed behaviour."
Another posted: "I watched this live. Jay Bothroyd has never backed down and always real. I love the way he quizzes referee Dermot Gallagher on Ref Watch. He's one of my favourites. Top player. Top analyst. Top man."
A third shared: "Standing ovation for Jay Bothroyd. Proper one."
Webb regularly appears on the pre-recorded TNT Sports programme Match Officials: Mic'd Up, in which he analyses refereeing calls from matches. It was pointed out to Bothroyd that Webb has previously discussed incidents live, though the former striker maintained he wanted Webb to appear on Sky Sports as well.
Martinez leads United's protests
United defender Lisandro Martinez led the protests from United's players after the final whistle. "It's the best league in the world, you have the best teams in the world, the best players in the world, and now we have to go home with this injustice," he told Sky.
"I think it was offside. What I can't understand is the rules. He (Fernandez) was there, in front of me, and I went to him. So that's why Haaland was free at the back.
"It's so hard because you lose a derby and you lose three points at home. Every season they're coming to our club and explaining the rules for an hour-and-a-half. They look so confident, and then after that five or six people are making these kind of mistakes. It's unacceptable."
