Manchester United fury as VAR controversially rules out Juan Mata goal for offside in Huddersfield FA Cup clash

MANCHESTER UNITED star Juan Mata had a goal controversially ruled out by VAR in the FA Cup fifth round tie against Huddersfield.

The 29-year-old thought he had put the Red Devils 2-0 up just before the break, but referee Kevin Friend, with the help of VAR, disallowed his strike.

Juan Mata had a goal controversially ruled out by VAR in the FA Cup fifth round

BT SPORT: It appeared as though the Spanish international was onside at the John Smith’s Stadium

GETTY – CONTRIBUTOR: The VAR system is again at the centre of controversy following Mata’s disallowed strike

The replay was then shown on the VAR system, but the lines appeared to look wobbly and completely inaccurate, looking as if the former Chelsea man was in an offside position.

Speaking at half-time BT Sport presenter Jake Humphrey said: “That line is all wobbly.”

While former Leicester ace Robbie Savage added: “That was a shambles. Offside should be clear and obvious.

“Those lines don’t tell, what a shambles. That is not clear and obvious, that was a shambles.”

GETTY – CONTRIBUTOR: Ironically, the VAR displayed a message saying it is not 100% accurate

Speaking of the incident, Jose Mourinho said: “The referees should decide on VAR. Do they feel happy with it? Do they want some technical help? Or do they still want to live with the human mistakes they make?

“Do they prefer some guy in the studio to say ‘it’s not offside or a penalty’?

“But if they stick to the words in the protocol, everyone will be happy.

“This was against the words in the protocol that say it must be a clear and obvious situation. It wasn’t a clear and obvious situation.”

AFP OR LICENSORS: The 30-year-old thought had sent the Red Devils two goals up against the Terriers

GETTY IMAGES – GETTY: Referee Kevin Friend waved away the goal, despite protests from the United players

To make matters worse, a message was displayed on the screen at the John Smith’s Stadium claiming that VAR is not 100% accurate.

It said: “The aim is not to achieve 100% accuracy, but to avoid clear and obvious errors.

“The referee remains the final decision maker, their decision can only be changed if the video review shows a clear and obvious error.

“The VAR will only intervene to correct a clear and obvious error made by the on-field referee team, or for missed serious incidents (Eg violent conduct).”

AFP OR LICENSORS: Juan Mata chats with Kevin Friend in the midst of the chaos against Huddersfield

BT SPORT: The lines appeared to be wobbly, showing the former Chelsea ace to be offside

Romelu Lukaku had fired Mourinho’s men into an early lead after tucking away his strike inside the first three minutes.

And the Belgian striker doubled his tally in the second half as United finally extended their lead over Huddersfield.

Keep up-to-date with all the action from the FA Cup tie with the SunSport live blog.