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temporary Manchester United manager Darren Fletcher Expressed dissatisfaction with the referee of the team FA Cup Lost to Brighton.
The Scot thought teenage substitute Shay Lacey’s penalty was “ridiculous” and attacked the “bad refereeing”. old trafford as his side They are the first to withdraw from these two cup competitions since the 1981-82 season.
United lost 2-1 at the first hurdle, with Benjamin Sesko’s late consolation goal re-energizing the crowd but not enough to force extra time after Brajan Gruda and the former United man Danny Welbeck Put tourists first.
Lacey, who came on as a second-half substitute, provided a rare bright spot for United’s attack on a disappointing night.
But his debut at Old Trafford ended in tears after he received two yellow cards in the space of three minutes from referee Simon Hooper, the first for a foul and the second for throwing the ball away in frustration.
Fletcher told TNT Sports Afterwards: “Shay Lacy’s yellow card was ridiculous compared to the fouls we had throughout the game and ultimately the lad made a mistake and got sent off. To me, that was poor officiating.
“He’s disappointed because he cares, he understands, he knows he’s going to learn from it. There’s no question about his talent. It was a steep learning curve today, but we believe in Shea.
“He is one of our most exciting young players and I believe he will have the opportunity to make up for that in the future at Old Trafford.”
Booth greeted the half-time and full-time whistles as United’s latest cup exit reduced their season to just 40 games, their lowest in 111 years.
With no European fixtures in sight either, the club can now only hope for a positive second half of the Premier League campaign, although they are 17 points behind leaders Arsenal in seventh.
Fletcher continued: “I think you can see the players are vulnerable but they have to respond. Confidence is one of the most powerful things in football so when you don’t have confidence you have to dig deep and then the confidence comes back.”
“It’s over for them and they need to make sure they have a lot of games to play this season. This team is still good enough to be successful this season but they have to dig deep.
“After the cup, there were only Premier League games left and the fans weren’t happy in the end, but they had every right to express their displeasure. It wasn’t toxic, but they showed disappointment.”
“I’m sure if the players show the right reaction the fans will support them as usual because there’s still a lot to do in the Premier League this season.”
