Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy claimed his team were defeated “not in Fergie time but in offside time” after Harry Maguire scored a last-gasp offside winner for Manchester United in their FA Cup fourth-round clash on Friday night.
Maguire headed in from Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick in the third minute of stoppage win to secure a 2-1 come-from-behind victory for the Red Devils at Old Trafford.
But replays showed the former Leicester centre-back was clearly in an offside position when the cross was clipped in. The goal was not ruled out because there was no VAR.
The FA announced in December that VAR will only be used from the fifth round onwards in the competition this season. A statement read: “VAR has only been used in the FA Cup previously for matches at Wembley Stadium and at Premier League grounds due to the infrastructure, workforce and costs that are required for its operation.
“This decision ensures that there is a consistent refereeing approach for all clubs taking part in the same stage of the competition.”
Leicester were left aggrieved however, with Van Nistelrooy claiming VAR shouldn’t have even been needed to overturn the decision, which denied the Foxes the chance to play extra time and even potentially penalties.
ITV’s Gabriel Clarke posed the question to the Dutch coach post-match: “Ruud, defeated in Fergie time, that famous phrase, was that tough on your team tonight?”
And an angry Van Nistelrooy replied: “We are not defeated in Fergie time, we are defeated in offside time. VAR wasn’t necessary. VAR you have for a couple of centimetres or a couple of inches.
“This was half a metre, clear in a line. That’s a hard one to take because the team deserved the draw in the end, the extra time. We stay in the game and you never know what happens.
“Of course we knew second half there was going to be some pressure on us and some chances but not even that much. So we deserved to go into extra time and go for the battle and maybe penalties. But yeah, decisions like these, in our level, are hard to swallow.”