Manchester United receive apology from VAR chiefs after Juan Mata’s FA Cup goal was disallowed showing ‘incorrect lines’

Manchester United have received an apology after Juan Mata’s goal against Huddersfield was incredibly disallowed by VAR.

The Spaniard appeared to give the Red Devils a 2-0 lead in the FA Cup tie, only for the officials to chalk off the effort with the help of the video technology.

The video assistant referees should only be summoned for clear and obvious errors, though Mata’s goal was a close call, which has led to Hawk-Eye releasing an apology for a “technical error,” report the Manchester Evening News.

The lines shown during the latest high-profile Video Assistant Referee controversy were not straight, which created much outrage on social media.

The company also remains adamant that the match officials were given straight lines to make their decisions with – and not the ones that were shown to those watching on television that were anything but.

Match referee Kevin Friend had awarded a goal until the VAR’s lengthy intervention.

There was controversy after those viewing on BT Sport were shown images of Mata’s positioning between wonky overlayed lines that created further confusion surrounding the decision.

Hawk-Eye is responsible for providing the technology used within VAR, and explained via a statement: “A technical issue led to an incorrect graphic being provided by Hawk-Eye to BT Sport last night.

“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.”