Wolves cruised through their FA Cup fourth round clash against Blackburn Rovers, winning 2-0 away from home.
Goals from Joao Gomes and Matheus Cunha – fresh off the back of signing a bumper new contract at the club – in quick succession were the difference between the two sides at Ewood Park in the first half, and earned Wolves a place in Monday’s fifth round draw.
It could’ve been a very different story for Vitor Pereira’s side, however, as Championship side Blackburn Rovers did have the ball in the back of the net inside the opening 20 minutes of the game.
Dan Hyman was the man who got the goal, stealing in at the back post to nod home a wonderful whipped free-kick delivery from Josh Buckley. Celebrations by Blackburn players and fans alike were quickly halted when the linesman was spotted raising his flag, ruling the goal out for offside.
Replays showed that Hyman’s goal was perhaps wrongly adjudged to have been scored from an offside position though, with Cunha and Rodrigo Gomes both seemingly having played Hyman onside from the free-kick.
Chris Sutton says Blackburn were ‘really hard done by’ with disallowed goal decision against Wolves
Having watched a few replays of the incident, BBC pundit and former Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton was left rather bemused by the decision made by the linesman.
Speaking on BBC’s live coverage of the game, Sutton said: “Do you know what? I think he’s onside. I think it’s [Rodrigo] Gomes in the near post space position for Wolves.
“It’s a bit of a shocker. I think Blackburn and John Eustace will feel really hard done by.”
Sutton also alluded to the reason the decision to disallow the goal could not be overturned, with VAR not being in operation for the fourth round of the FA Cup: “I tell you what, that’s extremely close. There’s no VAR, so the decision will stand but that is as tight as anything.”
When VAR will be used in the 2024/25 FA Cup
While VAR is not in operation for the early stages of the cup, the FA confirmed that it will be used from the fifth round of the competition onwards.
It is the first time that the technology will be utilised consistently for a set number of rounds of the competition, with VAR only previously being in operation for games at Wembley or Premier League stadia due to infrastructure limitations elsewhere.
In a statement explaining the decision, the FA wrote that “the decision ensures that there is a consistent refereeing approach for all clubs taking part in the same stage of the competition.”