Manchester United eliminates Leicester City from FA Cup despite offside controversy

Ruud van Nistelrooy, manager of Leicester City, was furious at Manchester United's controversial stoppage-time winner that eliminated his team from the FA Cup on February 8. He also criticized the lack of VAR in the competition's early stages, saying the technology could have saved a significant refereeing call. When his team lost 2-1 to his old club at Old Trafford, van Nistelrooy had a miserable evening. 

Bobby De Cordova-Reid gave Leicester the lead in the forty-second minute, but United rallied late, with Joshua Zirkzee tying the score in the sixty-eighth minute and Harry Maguire heading in the game-winning goal in stoppage time. Replays, however, revealed that Bruno Fernandes' game-winning free kick was delivered after Maguire was offside.

Van Nistelrooy was furious after the game and argued that Maguire's goal shouldn't have been allowed to stand. He rejected claims that the win was an illustration of United's renowned "Fergie-time" tenacity, citing his own experience playing for the club under Sir Alex Ferguson. Rather, he mockingly called the occurrence "offside time," claiming that the match referees had made a clear error in their decision.

"We are not defeated in Fergie time, we are defeated in offside time... We are gutted. When you prepare for the whole week for this game reacting after the Everton loss and put in a performance like that but it is decided on a clear and obvious mistake, that is unacceptable and unthinkable at this level. We have nothing else to do but pick ourselves up. It is not what the team deserved," Van Nistelrooy said during the post-match show.

Manchester United keeps FA Cup aspirations alive

The Football Association decided in December that the technology would only be used starting in the fifth round, making the lack of VAR in the early FA Cup stages a controversial topic. Leicester suffered as a result of this approach since they were not allowed to have Maguire's goal disallowed by a VAR check. Even with the controversy, Manchester United's win gave Ruben Amorim's team, who have been having trouble staying consistent in the Premier League, a much-needed morale boost. 

The win may be a game-changer for United and keep their FA Cup aspirations alive. However, Leicester and van Nistelrooy will feel wronged since they think they were wrongfully disqualified from the competition because of a preventable refereeing error.