Manchester United defeated Leicester City in the 93rd minute thanks to a goal by Harry Maguire, but the defender appeared to be offside, which infuriated the supporters.
In their FA Cup fourth-round matchup against Premier League struggling Leicester, United looked shabby once more. After Bobby De Cordova-Reid defeated Andre Onana in the first half, the Red Devils gave up. But in the 68th minute, Joshua Zirkzee tied the score for the reigning FA Cup holders, and in the third minute of injury time, Maguire scored the game-winning goal. When Bruno Fernandes swung his free kick into the area, the England international appeared to be offside. However, the linesman failed to raise his flag, and without VAR, the goal remained, and the supporters are furious at the glaring mistake.
X user @PoorEPLreferees wrote: “I’m sorry but how has the linesman not been able to lift his flag up for Maguire’s goal when there were FOUR United players in an offside position. He’s literally in line with them as the free kick is taken as well.”
@JackWhitman_7 added: “It’s genuinely a mockery now, was never a free kick in the first place even with the commentator saying the referee was ‘influenced’ by the crowd. Just for Maguire to be this far offside for his goal. The bias to the bigger clubs is unbelievable.”Another fan
@LFC_Lucas_ wrote: “That’s horrendous by the linesman, he’s miles offside and Maguire is the first man he can see? Pure corruption.”Manchester City fan
@Priceless_MCI wrote: “Maguire’s offside, This is how Fergie won all his trophies btw! Not surprised”
After the game, Leicester manager and former United interim coach Ruud van Nistelrooy was furious, saying his team was unfairly treated by the refereeing. “This wasn’t about being beaten in Fergie time, it was about being beaten in offside time,” Van Nistelrooy told reporters. VAR wasn’t required. This was half a meter; that deals with centimeters and inches. He was in line.
Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is not used in the FA Cup’s early stages since many lower-tier clubs do not have the technology necessary to adequately execute the system, which also requires officials to be present at every game. But when the FA Cup fifth round starts, the system will be accessible.