Clinton Morrison rips into Carlos Vicente for what he did in Birmingham loss vs Leeds: ‘Bang out of order’
Clinton Morrison was left baffled and angry by Carlos Vicente’s dive during Birmingham City’s penalty shootout defeat to Leeds United in the FA Cup on Sunday.
The ex-Blues striker watched his former club get knocked out of the FA Cup at the hands of their Premier League opponents after goals from Lukas Nmecha and Patrick Roberts saw the game end 1-1, before the visitors won 4-2 on penalties.
Vicente was at the centre of attention when he went down inside the visitors’ penalty area under a challenge from Sean Longstaff in the 42nd minute, only for referee Paul Tierney to wave away his appeals and show him a yellow card for simulation.
Morrison was left exasperated by the winger’s decision to go to ground in a promising position, and he wasted no time in making his feelings on the incident clear.
Clinton Morrison baffled by Carlos Vicente: ‘I don’t know why…’
Birmingham seized the initiative in the early stages of Sunday’s cup tie from the kick-off at St Andrew’s, but they couldn’t make their early pressure tell.
The second city outfit have been improving drastically under Chris Davies of late, and Sunday’s defeat saw their recent unbeaten end at an impressive eight games in all competitions.
It was a frustrating afternoon for Birmingham, who couldn’t find a way to make their pressure count in what was an entertaining encounter against Leeds.
Morrison was left seething with Vicente’s decision to try to buy a penalty, but he was also confused as to why he chose that option, given the promising position that he was in.
“I don’t know why he (Vicente) has dived because he can get his shot away,” the 46-year-old said during BBC 5 Live’s coverage of the game.
“The referee is in the right position, Longstaff goes out to him, and he’s not complaining too much. He knows he’s dived and that’s bang out of order.
“There’s no contact whatsoever, it’s a deserved yellow card.”
Morrison thinks Leeds’ goal vs Birmingham should have been ruled out
Nmecha netted the opener for Leeds on their way to progression into the fifth round, as he drilled the ball past Blues’ goalkeeper Ryan Allsop in the 49th minute.
He was set away down the inside left channel by Noah Okafor’s pass, but replays showed that the hosts may have had a case to argue that he was offside.
VAR is not being utilised in the FA Cup until the fifth round this term, meaning that Tierney and the rest of his officiating team had no way of getting a second look at the goal.
Morrison felt that had VAR been in operation, then Nmecha’s strike would have been ruled out.
“He would have been offside if VAR was here, he was clearly offside,” he said.
Instead, Morrison was left frustrated, and wondering what could have been for his former employers.
For more reaction to Birmingham’s defeat to Leeds, check out MOT Leeds News.