Juan Mata celebrates a goal that is ruled out offside after VAR (Video Assistant Referee) is consulted. (Source: Reuters)
Hawk-Eye, the company that provides VAR technology, have issued an apology for the confusion created during a VAR review that saw Manchester United’s Juan Mata have a goal ruled out for offside. The Red Devils’ player became the biggest talking point of the FA Cup match against Huddersfield when he was denied a goal during his side’s 2-0 win.
In a statement, Hawkeye said: “A technical error led to an incorrect graphic being provided by Hawkeye to BT Sport on Saturday. To confirm, the VAR saw the correct image with the correct lines to make the decision. This was a case of the wrong image being provided to the broadcaster and we apologise.”
The viewers of BT Sport were presented with a faulty graphic. (Source: Twitter)
While the visiting team celebrated in what they thought was 2-0 scoreline right before half-time, referee Kevin Friend listened to his earpiece for the VAR input and disallowed the goal as offside. The viewers of BT Sport were then presented with the faulty graphic, which Hawkeye claimed was a technical error.
Was Mata On or offside?
RT Onside
LIKE Offside pic.twitter.com/1C8pIfmf9b— Football Hub (@FootbalIhub) 17 February 2018
After the match, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho had said, “If the decision goes against my team but is the right decision I am very happy with that because what I want is the truth and, sometimes, it goes against my team and, sometimes, in my team’s favour. But I heard comments that maybe the linesman was right and not the studio. I think it’s an experimental period. In Portugal we have it in every match. I’m quite familiar with what the VAR is bringing that’s good and bad. They have to kill the bad and make it perfect.”
Mata, however, thinks that VAR is good for football. “I’m up for VAR and I think it is good for football especially to make important decisions and make it a little bit fairer but it seems like today it was not a very clear the decision against us and me. The good thing was that it was not needed [the goal] because we won anyway but I think we all wished it was quicker. I celebrated and it didn’t count.”
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