VARCICAL
‘Robbed’ – Fans fume at lack of VAR again following latest controversial FA Cup decision after Maguire’s offside goal
FA have explained why there is no VAR
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FANS have been left raging AGAIN over the lack of VAR in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Several matches this weekend have been impacted by controversial refereeing decisions, with officials in Stockley Park not in place until the next round of the competition.
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Manchester United beat Leicester 2-1 on Friday thanks to Harry Maguire's last-gasp header, which was incorrectly not flagged for offside.
On Saturday, Chelsea claimed there were two handballs in the build-up to Kaoru Mitoma's winner and Birmingham had earlier also felt hard done by a lack of technology.
Newcastle were awarded a goal against the Blues when it was unclear whether the whole ball had crossed the line or not.
The controversy continued into Sunday as Blackburn had a goal chalked off for a debatable offside against Wolves.
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Dominic Hyam headed home at the back post from a free-kick and replays showed that Hwang Hee-chan looked to have played him onside.
The incident occurred when the game was goalless and Wolves scored twice almost directly after to win it 2-0.
It led to Blackburn fans joining in the fury, with one saying: "No VAR makes you realise just how bad the referees are."
Another added: "Robbed, should be one up, poor decision."
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BBC commentator Chris Sutton highlighted the inconsistencies after Blackburn's disallowed strike, saying there was no flag for Maguire when he looked "three miles offside".
It comes after United boss Ruben Amorim admitted: "The goal was offside. We should have VAR. It should be here to overturn the decision. It's hard on Ruud, it's hard on the opponent."
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The FA explained the lack of VAR in a statement, which read: "This decision ensures that there is a consistent refereeing approach for all clubs taking part in the same stage of the competition."
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How Blackburn 0-2 Wolves unfolded
By SunSport's Martin Blackburn
MATHEUS CUNHA gave another reminder of why Wolves were so desperate to keep him in January.
Despite links to Arsenal and Manchester United, the Molineux board stood firm and handed him a new four-and-a-half year contract earlier this month.
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He celebrated that with a goal against Aston Villa last weekend and was on target again here to help Vitor Pereira’s men into the fifth round.
Cunha and fellow Brazilian Joao Gomes struck within the space of a minute in the first half to bring a touch of Samba magic to a freezing day in East Lancashire.
The talk among home fans in the build-up to the game was about an approach from Derby for John Eustace – which is believed to appeal to the Rovers boss.
On the face of it, the idea of swapping a team in the play-off positions for one in the relegation zone looks a puzzling one.
Yet his team have lost seven of their last 11 league games to leave their position in the top six much more precarious.
He was also frustrated by a lack of support from the board in January, suggesting the new signings who did come in were made by the club rather than him.
Even so two of them – Yuri RIbeiro and Emmanuel Dennis - were handed debuts here and were among eight changes made by Eustace.
Another new arrival – winger Augustus Kargbo - blazed an effort over the bar but was causing the visitors defence a real headache down the left.
And the Championship side thought they had a lead which would not have flattered them as Dominic Hyam nodded in John Buckley’s swirling free-kick at the back post.
Celebrations were cut short by the linesman’s flag but replays showed they were hard done by and VAR would almost certainly have seen the goal stand.
Minutes later live-wire winger Kargbo burst into the box and went down under a challenge from Emmanuel Agbadou.
Referee Lewis Smith whistled but instead of pointing to the spot he booked the Rovers new boy for a dive.
It was looking promising for Rovers but in the blink of an eye, the tie changed and before long they had a mountain to climb.
Todd Cantwell lost possession and Wolves worked it well with Hwang Hee Chan picking out Joao Gomes in the box.
The forward’s shot lacked any conviction but still squirmed under second choice keeper Balazs Toth and crept over the line for his third of the season.
It was a poor goal to concede and Rovers were still feeling sorry for themselves when they shipped a second just over a minute later.
This time it was an impressive move as Rodrigo Gomes and Nelson Semedo worked it out to Cunha on the right.
His first time shot flashed past Toth at his near post – although again the Hungarian keeper might have been disappointed.
There is no doubting the quality of Brazil international Cunha though - no wonder Wolves moved to protect their investment by giving him a lucrative new deal earlier this month.
Rovers could have gone under but came close to grabbing one back before the break with Sam Johnstone saving smartly from Dennis at his near post.
And after the break, Cantwell swapped passes with Amario Cozier-Duberry but lifted his shot high over the bar.
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But Rovers efforts fizzled out and it was Wolves who looked more likely to add to their tally with Toth making a full stretch save to tip away Cunha’s long range effort.
Sub Pablo Serabia flicked an effort over the bar and put another into the side-netting but in the end it didn’t matter.
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