'Dangerous' - Sheffield's ex-FIFA referee has his say on Billy Sharp's disallowed goal in Sheffield United's FA Cup defeat at Wolves
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With the scoreline 1-0 to the Premier League side, Billy Sharp bundled home the ball after a bit of pinball in the box from a Blades corner.
But the referee Paul Tierney ruled out the goal and penalised Sharp for a high foot on Wolves midfielder Leandro Dendoncker, much to the striker’s dismay.
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Hide AdBlades boss Paul Heckingbottom said afterwards: “There’s no contact but everything’s a foul now, so I wasn’t surprised that it was ruled out.
“I think if it’s given it’s not ruled out by VAR… it was one of those tight, marginal calls.”
But Keith Hackett, the Sheffield-born former FIFA referee, insists it was the right decision.
“If the ball is above the waist as a football player now you’ve got to play with your head rather than your feet,” he told Football Insider.
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Hide Ad“It doesn’t matter about contact. I’ve got a lot of time for Heckingbottom, I think he’s a great manager.
“But the fact he didn’t make contact doesn’t matter. It’s a dangerous act and therefore he has to be penalised. So the referee was right.”
United went on to lose the game 3-0, with second-half goals from Daniel Podence – who scored a brace – and Nelson Semedo sending the Blades out of the cup.
“Everyone can see where the game was lost,” Heckingbottom added.
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Hide Ad“We started really, really well, didn't take our opportunities, then at the other end we gave them opportunities and they took them. That was the difference."
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