FA Cup integrity in question over VAR key decision go against Nottingham

Published

10 months ago

January 18, 2024

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley says the integrity of the FA Cup has to be in question over the way VAR is used in some games but not others.

Technology was present in the Seasiders’ initial third round trip to the City Ground earlier this month, but it wasn’t available at Bloomfield Road for the replay. It proved to be a night of heartbreak for the League One club as they suffered a 3-2 loss. After pulling themselves level from two goals behind through Albie Morgan and Kyle Joseph, they were defeated in extra time as Chris Wood added his name to the scoresheet alongside Andrew Omobamidele and Danilo- who had both scored earlier in the contest.

With the game level at 2-2 in the second half, Blackpool had calls for a spot kick waved away following a challenge on Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel, while Forest’s winner also proved to be a close offside call, leaving the Seasiders boss frustrated following a performance to be proud of from his side.

“I felt we could’ve had a penalty,” Critchley said.

“I’ve not seen it back yet but my initial reaction at the time was Jordan had beaten his man and the boy tried to play the ball but didn’t get it. There’s that decision.