The 1991 FA Cup final ended tragically for Nottingham Forest when Des Walker put the ball in his own net, but the game could’ve been much different with modern-day technologies.
The legendary Forest defender didn’t have his legacy impacted by his own goal, as shown by Stuart Pearce naming Walker as his greatest Forest teammate.
Truthfully, the FA Cup heartbreak hasn’t really scarred anyone involved in it, with plenty of Forest legends on the pitch alongside Walker and Pearce that day, as well as the iconic Brian Clough on the touchline.
Back in the present, Forest travel to Brighton in the FA Cup quarter-final, looking to progress to Wembley for the first time since that 1991 final, which could’ve been a much happier memory if VAR had been invented 30 years earlier.
How VAR could’ve helped Nottingham Forest win the 1991 FA Cup
Reflecting on the game back in 2020, The Times asked current Premier League refereeing staple, Chris Kavanagh, to analyse the 1991 final through the lens of modern-day rules, with VAR a particular focus.
The piece documents an early flash point in the final in which Paul Gascoigne delivered a dangerous tackle on Garry Parker, which didn’t even earn the English talisman a yellow card.
On the tackle, Kavanagh said: “I look at that cold and it’s a red card, but as I put my referee head on, it’s 43 seconds in, and I’ll probably not want to give a red so early, I’d like to give the game a chance to breathe.
“So early on your tolerance level is maybe slightly higher but having said that, I’d like to think I’d be strong enough to give a red. […] It is that bad. There are challenges sometimes when you go; ‘I’m not sure, but in this case I think I would show a red.”
On how VAR could’ve aided the referee, Kavanagh added: “VAR would get involved and it would result in a red card, VAR is factual. I’d go across to the screen and look at the angles and it would be a red.”
There were plenty of decisions in the game that Kavanagh disagreed with, including one that would’ve hindered Forest even more.
Chris Kavanagh claims that Mark Crossley should’ve been sent off in the 1991 FA Cup final
After Pearce gave Forest the lead at Wembley, ironically via a free kick after another shocking Gascoigne tackle, Tottenham had a chance to level the game from the penalty spot after goalkeeper Mark Crossley brought down Gary Lineker.
No card was shown to Crossley for the incident and actually saved Lineker’s spot kick, but Kavanagh believed that the Reds were incredibly lucky to get away without a red card of their own.
Kavanagh said: “That has to be a red card, again — is it because it’s a Cup Final?” Under today’s double jeopardy rules it would be a yellow card, because it’s an attempt to win the ball. But in 1991, that’s a red card.”
Either way, Spurs would eventually equalise and go on to win the cup in extra time, but Clough and Forest were arguably lucky to have their goalkeeper for the full 120 minutes. If Gascoigne was sent off, though, that 1-0 lead may have been a lot easier to hang on to.
Whichever way you look at it, then, VAR would’ve had a telling impact on Forest’s last attempt at FA Cup glory.
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