Nottingham Forest Under-18 head coach Warren Joyce has told Nottinghamshire Live of his disgust at last night’s match officials following a 3-1 defeat to Manchester United.
The Reds were on top for large parts of the FA Youth Cup Final, silencing the crowd with some pretty football at Old Trafford.
United went in front for the second time in the 76th minute from the penalty spot. Referee Josh Smith felt that Zach Abbott’s foul was inside the box but replays showed it was clearly outside.
Joyce was clearly proud of his team but felt that the decision could scar his players for a long time.
He told Nottinghamshire Live: “Mistakes by our players, yes. But it’s not a penalty. In big games like this, it’s hard for the lads to take when they look back on that, at a time when the game could have gone either way.
“It’s a poor mistake from us. You could say it’s a booking, or even a sending off. But, it’s not a penalty. In this day and age as well when there’s all the technology available. I think it’s poor for a final like this, it can scar the lads for a long time.”
Forest head coach Joyce has the right to be disgusted with officials
It’s getting beyond a joke now. Nobody is saying that officiating football in the modern era is easy but the standard has been nothing short of atrocious of late.
A week after Stuart Attwell apologised for a wrong decision from an assistant referee at Bournemouth, a Forest side have been seemingly robbed once again.
Joyce says that his players might carry some scars from the awful decision. He could be right, although facing United in the league on Saturday might help them gain immediate revenge.
The standard of officiating needs a serious review. Quite how this sort of thing is still allowed to happen with all the technology available, remains to be seen.
For the young Reds, they must hold their heads high and on another day they might have lifted the trophy aloft.