José Mourinho said that the use of VAR to disallow a Juan Mata goal in Manchester United’s 2-0 FA Cup fifth round win over Hudderfield Town “went against the original protocol” of the system and that football is “ too beautiful to be spoiled by something not perfect.”
Mata was initially adjudged to have beaten the offside trap to score in the first-half, but the decision was referred to the video referee and he was deemed to be beyond the last man - or, at least, his knee was slightly beyond the offside line.
However, shots from VAR showed uneven, wavy lines drawn across the picture, making a mockery of the system. When straight lines were eventually put on the shot, it showed Mata’s kneecap to be offside, but questions will be raised about whether that was the correct circumstance for it to be deployed, as it wasn’t a clear and obvious error.
The managers at the John Smith’s stadium were both unhappy with events in different ways. For Mourinho it was his first live experience of VAR, though he is familiar with the system from its use in Portugal.
“It has thrown up some amazing results, but there have also been problems and frustrations,” he said. “It is not reliable yet and I think the game is too beautiful to be spoiled by something not perfect.
“I also believe the way the system was used at Huddersfield went against the original protocol, which was specifically to correct clear and obvious mistakes. It takes a long time too, and then you have to cope with the frustration if the decision goes against you.
“I had to tell my analysts to shut up at half time because I didn’t want the players to know what had happened. I wanted them to accept it was offside and move on. Perhaps we should be patient, it is experimental after all, but that is easier to say after a 2-0 victory.”
David Wagner was the beneficiary on this occasion, though still remains sceptical. “I don’t like it, I never have,” the Huddersfield coach said. “Maybe I’m too traditional, but it kills the emotion in the stadium, and for me that’s a big part of football’s attraction.”
