"VAR has created lazy officiating" - Former PGMOL chief hits out at referees after Manchester United's offside goal knocks out Leicester City

Former PGMOL Chief Keith Hackett has slammed referees following Harry Maguire's controversial goal in Manchester United's 2-1 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Leicester City on Friday, February 7. He claimed that the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) has created lazy officiating.

Ruben Amorim's side booked their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup thanks to a second-half comeback, albeit controversial. The Red Devils went a goal down from a Bobby De Cordova-Reid 42nd-minute header.

Joshua Zirkzee restored parity for United in the 68th minute, latching on to a rebound from a loose ball in the box. The clash looked to be heading into extra time before Maguire stepped up to head home a Bruno Fernandes freekick in the third minute of additional time.

Replays showed that the Englishman was in an offside position and the goal shouldn't have stood. However, with VAR not being deployed in the FA Cup until the fifth round, the decision could not be rescinded, handing Amorim's side a controversial victory.

The incident has now raised concerns about the English FA introducing the VAR in the FA Cup from an earlier stage. When asked about the issue by Football Insider, former PGMOL Chief Hackett replied:

"So I think generally the scenario is that the FA will I’m sure look at it, because there’s no question that the Harry Maguire goal should not have stood. He was offside."

Hackett further discussed the Manchester United vs Leicester City incident, stating that VAR has made referees lazy.

"Now we go back to I think another problem that I’ve mentioned before, and that is that VAR has created lazy officiating, as people now begin to understand what I mean. And by lazy officiating is movement on the field of play, so important that the assistant referee is in line with the second rearmost defender, and of course the big part is concentration," Hackett said.

He continued:

"I think they always think there’s a life belt at the end of the pier and it’s going to throw me a life raft whatever the outcome is the decision at the end of the day is going to be right."

"So I think initially this is poor officiating from the assistant referee. You would not expect a referee operating at the elite level to make such a basic error. So to answer your question, I think officials are getting so used to operating with VAR that when it’s not there, there’s a clear problem."

"But I must say that apart from these key incidents, I think it’s been enjoyable watching the game without VAR to be honest, and to actually see referees making good decisions.," the former referee concluded.

Manchester United will know their FA Cup fifth-round opponents after the draws on Monday, February 10.

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes aims dig at Ruben Amorim after FA Cup win over Leicester City

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes indirectly questioned Ruben Amorim's tactics in their 2-1 FA Cup fourth-round win over Leicester City last Friday. The Portuguese tactician deployed winter recruit Patrick Dorgu at right-back rather than his preferred left-back position.

Scholes was not impressed with the manager and took to Instagram where he wrote (via Metro):

"Inverted wing-backs… you saw it at OT first."

Manchester United will next be in action on Sunday, February 16, when they take on Tottenham Hotspur away in the Premier League.