Ex-Birmingham City star makes evidence argument after controversial Newcastle United FA Cup goal
Birmingham City have been told Newcastle United's equaliser should not have stood. Joe Willock fired the Magpies to a 3-2 win at St. Andrew's on Saturday evening, booking Eddie Howe's side a place in the FA Cup fifth round.
Ethan Laird put the Blues ahead inside the opening minute before the former Arsenal midfielder levelled proceedings. Bailey Peacock-Farrell charged towards his near post to close down William Osula, but, rather than shooting, the Newcastle forward found Willock unmarked inside the six-yard box.
The Birmingham City goalkeeper had to quickly reposition himself and, as the Magpies ace lined up a shot, he found himself behind his goal-line. Peacock-Farrell appeared to recover just in time and stop the ball from going in, but the linesman immediately waved his flag to signal otherwise.
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Nigel Lugg adjudged the ball to have gone over the line, resulting in a Newcastle goal, but replays have since cast doubt over the decision, sparking widespread confusion. The FA have since confirmed that goal-line technology was not in use, in accordance with competition rules.
In the FA Cup, the service is only in operation at the grounds of clubs that play in the Premier League and the Championship. Nevertheless, speaking on ITV ahead of Liverpool's clash against Plymouth Argyle on Sunday afternoon, Karen Carney and Robbie Fowler analysed the incident.
The former Blues Women midfielder said: "Newcastle went through – I wish them all the best – but I think in terms of this, I don’t think it’s a goal for me. We can’t even give evidence that it crossed the line.
"Is the whole ball –– I still don’t know. Look, at the end of the day, we can’t change it. It was an unbelievable game. Birmingham did a massive credit to themselves and Newcastle are a top team."
Fowler chipped in: "I know we talk about VAR in the FA Cup, but the problem is sometimes we’ll have it, sometimes we won’t. Look, I’ve not got a problem with that. That is human error as far as I’m concerned and we live with that."
Speaking to reporters after the game, Willock was keen to take the focus off the officials. The 25-year-old told BBC Sport: "I was just trying to give my best.
"It has not been an easy season for me, I've been waiting for my chance to push on and hopefully this is the start of the rest of my season. It's very exciting times. It's not an easy place to come to, we want to thank the fans.
"Hopefully we can go one better this time in the Carabao Cup [final] and far in this competition."
