Alan Shearer slams officials after Sheffield Wednesday’s FA Cup shock over Newcastle United
Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer made no secret of his disgust at the performance of the referee’s assistants as his old side were shocked out of the FA Cup by Sheffield Wednesday.
The Owls won the clash 2-1 thanks to a double by bang-in-form Josh Windass before Toon superstar Bruno Guimarães set up a nervy last 20 minutes.
Television replays showed Windass’ well-worked first goal was offside, as was that of Guimarães.
And working for BBC Sport, Shearer lambasted the work of the linesmen.
Discussing Wednesday’s opener, the former England captain snarled: “Well the assistant wouldn’t be able to tell because he was five or six yards out of position.
“They worked it really well and it was a clever finish, he worked it really well. But the assistant is miles away from where he should be.
“But Newcastle’s goal is offside as well, he’s two or three yards off. The assistant is so far out of position.”
Another former Premier League striker of some repute was Dion Dublin, who argued Wednesday hadn’t deserved to win the match.
A magnanimous Shearer took the opposite view and praised the Owls’ performance.
“I will say they deserved to go through. I thought they were superb,” he said.
“I don’t think they played particularly well in the first half but they were a much better outfit second half – they created chances.
“Josh Windass scored two very clever goals and could have had a hat-trick, he hit the bar from a free-kick. Newcastle missed far too many chances.”