Wayne Rooney branded the officiating an “absolute shocker” after Newcastle’s FA Cup win over Aston Villa, with the former England captain furious at a string of big calls made on a night without VAR.
With no video technology in use for the tie, Rooney said the officials got several key moments wrong, arguing Villa were on the wrong end of decisions that had a major impact on the match.
Rooney pointed to a number of incidents during the game, questioning how they were missed and insisting the absence of VAR left too much room for error at this stage of the competition.
Newcastle ultimately came away from Villa Park with the result, but the post-match conversation quickly shifted from the football to the refereeing, with Rooney’s criticism underlining the ongoing debate around VAR and consistency in cup competitions.
He maintained that the standard of decision-making was not good enough, especially given the stakes, and said the officials’ errors were glaring on replay even if they were not corrected in real time.
Rooney’s comments come amid continued scrutiny of why VAR is not available for every FA Cup match, a situation that again left managers, players and pundits relying solely on the on-field decisions.
