Dubious call fails to halt Man U
Video refereeing queried
London – Debate over the merits of video assistant refereeing (VAR) was again raised as a Romelu Lukaku double eased Manchester United into the FA Cup quarterfinals in a 2-0 win at Huddersfield, despite a controversial call going against Jose Mourinho’s men.
Juan Mata thought he had put United into a 2-0 lead just before half-time only for the Spaniard’s effort to be ruled out by the video referee after a lengthy delay, and without conclusive proof the officials on the field had made the wrong decision.
Thankfully for United, and the authorities, that decision didn’t have a definitive influence on the outcome as Lukaku struck early in both halves to take his tally for the season to 21.
“If they have the VAR to help them make the right decisions, I think the referees will be happy. But if the VAR changes their good decisions for bad decisions,” said Mourinho.
● The School of Excellence have been crowned winners of the 2018 Future Champions Gauteng Schools Cup after two days of competition, which ended at the Isak Stayl Stadium yesterday.
The school claimed the prestigious prize after beating Fumana Secondary School 2-1 in the final.
All four semifinalists, including Clapham Secondary School and Rosina Sedibane Sport School, have qualified for the Future Champions Gauteng Cup that will be played on 3 March.
The leading four sides in that tournament will move forward to the prestigious Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament from March 19-24.