Ex-Peterborough United skipper left to curse his luck after controversial Wembley moment
Former Peterborough United skipper Harrison Burrows was left cursing his luck after his dream of playing Premier League football next season was dashed.
Burrows (23), the scorer of two goals in his first Wembley appearance for Posh in the EFL Trophy Final last season, thought he had fired Sheffield United 2-0 up against Sunderland in the Championship play-off final with a terrific strike from the edge of the penalty area on Saturday.
But VAR was in operation for the only time all season at a Championship match and referee Chris Kavanagh was advised to visit his TV monitor to see if Burrows’ teammate Vini Souza has interfered with the ability of Sunderland ‘keeper Anthony Patterson to save Burrows’ shot from an offside position. Kavanagh reckoned he had so the ‘goal’ was chalked off and Sunderland hit back to claim a fortunate 2-1 win with two goals in the final 15 minutes.
In ‘The Blades’ 51 other games this season - 46 in the league, two in play-offs and three in the other cups - the goal would have stood.
Blades boss Chris Wilder was pragmatic about the incident. He said: “There will obviously be a lot of talk about the VAR. We play 46 games and two play-off games without VAR and then all of a sudden we have a subjective decision made by the referee.
“I've got to say, I don't think the goalkeeper saves it. I don’t think he gets anywhere near it. I think it’s gone past him. But listen, that's by the by. Although it gave them a lifeline and some real energy for the second half.
"It’s going to take quite a while to get over this and we're going to have to suffer and go through some pain. It wasn't any spin or anything in terms of the preparation of the players, but going into the play-offs, and going into the final, it was as good as I've experienced at a football club.”
Burrows played 48 games for Sheffield United in his first season at the club following his £4 million transfer from Posh. He scored six goals, but Posh have now missed out on a £1 million bonus promotion for Sheffield United would have triggered.