Manchester United denied clear goal in their clash with Huddersfield

Manchester United's goal was ruled out due to VAR

 

The controversial introduction of video assistant refereeing (VAR) suffered another setback as confusion reigned in Manchester United's debut using the system in Saturday's fifth round FA Cup tie at Huddersfield.

Juan Mata thought he had put United into a 2-0 lead just before half-time following Romelu Lukaku's early opener.

However, after a lengthy delay, referee Kevin Friend disallowed the goal for offside on the recommendation of the video official, located in a studio in London nearly 200 miles away.

Yet the lines used to determine whether Mata had been standing in an offside position showed up on television footage as far from straight.

United boss Jose Mourinho had said ahead of the game that he was in favour of the introduction of technology.

"When people ask us if we like it, if we don't like it, if we agree with it or don't agree with it, I think honestly it's a question for the referees," said the Portuguese coach.

"They want to perform the best they can, they don't like to make mistakes. And sometimes they make mistakes because it's a human mistake and you cannot go over it unless you have some technological support.

"So if the referees are happy with that technological support, then yes, let's go for the VAR. I think, from my perspective, I like the feeling."

Lukaku double sends Man United into FA Cup quarter-finals

Romelu Lukaku extended his impressive FA Cup scoring record by netting twice in Manchester United's 2-0 win at Huddersfield Town to send Jose Mourinho's side through to the quarter-finals.

The Belgian has scored in each of the three rounds United have played of this year's competition and now has 11 goals from his past 10 FA Cup appearances.

Lukaku's first came after three minutes, and the striker scored again in the second half after United mounted a quick counter-attack against a side who beat them at the John Smith's Stadium in the Premier League last October.

Saturday's fifth-round late kickoff also featured English football's latest video-assisted referee (VAR) decision when United's Juan Mata had a goal disallowed after being ruled fractionally offside before the interval.

United's midfielder Paul Pogba missed the game due to illness.

West Bromwich Albion's tumultuous week took a final turn for the worse as they were knocked out by Southampton, whose 2-1 victory at the Hawthorns secured the visitors a quarter-final berth for the first time since 2005.

Defeat always seemed likely for West Brom, who are bottom of the Premier League and sacked their chairman and chief-executive on Tuesday.

They then had four senior players interviewed by Spanish police over the alleged theft of a taxi from outside a fast-food restaurant in Barcelona.

Two of those involved in the incident, Jonny Evans and Gareth Barry, both started against Southampton after issuing a public apology, although Evans was stripped of the captaincy by Albion manager Alan Pardew.

"I felt I needed to make a little bit of a statement about the events," Pardew said. "I was far from happy over them."

Evans could do nothing to stop Southampton taking the lead through Wesley Hoedt on 11 minutes, with Dusan Tadic adding the second after the interval.

Salomon Rondon quickly countered for West Brom but Southampton held on to record their second win at Albion in two weeks.

Brighton's Jurgen Locadia scored on his debut in the 3-1 win over Coventry City who, after knocking out Stoke City in the third round, failed in their attempt to make FA Cup history by becoming the first fourth-tier side to beat two top-flight teams in the same season.

There was never much chance of that with Brighton's record signing Locadia scoring with his first shot on target after 15 minutes and Leicester City loanee Leonardo Ulloa, who is in his second spell with the Seagulls, rounding off the win after Connor Goldson netted his first goal in almost two years. Jonson Clarke-Harris scored Coventry's consolation.

The last time Brighton were a top-flight team they reached the FA Cup final in 1983 and might fancy their chances of a repeat this season although manager Chris Hughton's decision to make nine changes in his starting lineup suggests the competition which he twice won as a player is not a priority.

At Hillsborough, both managers bemoaned the replay after second tier Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea City shared a goalless draw, with Swansea's Carlos Carvalhal suggesting everyone would have been happy to play on to penalties.

"It's a score nobody wants. I also believe (that's the case) for Sheffield Wednesday - the same one more game. Maybe in the future we can think that if the managers and referee agree after the first game we can go to penalties and we can finish the game today," said Carvalhal who was given a warm reception on his return to the club he managed for two and a half years.

The replay is Swansea's third in succession as they continue to juggle cup commitments with a Premier League survival battle that has become more difficult after impressive defender Alfie Mawson injured himself before kickoff and was subsequently seen wearing a knee brace.