Wrexham were reduced to 10 men in the second half of their FA Cup clash against Chelsea on Saturday, which Phil Parkinson’s men eventually went on to lose in extra time
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has insisted that George Dobson’s red card in Saturday’s FA Cup defeat to Chelsea was the wrong decision, as VAR overturned the on-field decision.
The Red Dragons were reduced to 10 men in injury-time with the score level at 2-2. Referee Peter Bankes had originally shown the midfielder a yellow card, before VAR recommended him to head to the on-field screen and review the incident again.
A short review followed before Banks overturned his decision and sent Dobson off. Wrexham went on to suffer more VAR heartbreak as Lewis Brunt’s equalise was ruled out for offside.
Speaking after the eventful cup tie, which his side lost 4-2 after extra-time, Parkinson doubted whether the decision needed to be changed. He said: “In the second half I think we were the better team and I was confident we were going to win.
“The referee gave a yellow. I’m not sure of the rules, it’s the first time we’ve had VAR and it has to be clear and obvious to overturn it. I think the referee could have just kept it at a yellow.
“I said at the break in extra time there are still going to be chances for us. Unfortunately we didn’t take one but we have to take a lot of heart from that performance.
“It’s been a great cup run. Tonight was a great spectacle and we were competitive against a very good side. We will take a lot of positives from it.”
Wrexham knocked out Premier League opposition Nottingham Forest in the third round of the tournament, beating them on penalties.
They had gone ahead twice against the FIFA Club World Cup champions on Saturday, thanks to goals from Sam Smith and Callum Doyle.
“I’m very pleased with the way we acquitted ourselves tonight,” Parkinson added. “We showed a lot of good aspects to our play and played some great football. We weren’t just coming here to stop Chelsea – we believe we can play.
“We were frustrated not to come in at half-time ahead. The lads have given a lot tonight and to play extra time with 10 men is really hard.
“We wanted to have a real go in the second period and we had some great chances. We had moments even with 10 men and the lads have to take a lot of credit tonight.”
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