VAR confusion as referee takes two minutes to award Man Utd penalty vs Reading after Fred goal ruled out for offside

It took more than two minutes of consultation between Stuart Attwell and his video assistants to decide what to do at Old Trafford.

United thought they had taken the lead when Alexis Sanchez, Fred and Juan Mata combined for the Brazilian midfielder to slot home from Mata's through ball.

Fred, though, was flagged offside as the celebrations were cut short while Mata was fouled as he passed the ball.

But then came the confusion as Attwell held his finger to his ear to communicate with Jon Moss and the wait began. And they waited. And they waited.

Finally, he blew his whistle and pointed to the spot, appearing to get the decision right in the end.

Mata then stuck away his penalty into the bottom corner with no problem, turning his assist into his first FA Cup goal since 2016.

But there was plenty of confusion from fans and pundits alike, while the time it took to get the decision was not ideal.

England Women's manager Phil Neville said: "I think there was a foul on Juan Mata before Fred was caught offside there. The question is whether Mata had lost control of the ball before he was fouled.

"The use of VAR was questionable there – it has got to be quicker. But in defence of Jon Moss – the fourth official – there were a lot of mitigating factors there."

Twitter user Alex Le Chevalier said: "Correct decision in the end but should not be taking 2 minutes.

"VAR is great in principle but the time taken is ridiculous. That wasn’t even a tough one either."

While Ann Mari Olsen joked: "VAR is slower than Pogbas penalty shooting… come on!"

Source: Read Full Article