Figures from Sheffield United and Wrexham accused each other of showing disrespect during the FA Cup games this month.
The first tie ended 3-3 as the Blades battled back to earn a replay before they finished the job on Tuesday night, though not without a scare or two.
After Anel Ahmedhodzic’s opener, Paul Mullin equalised from the penalty spot and had the chance to capitalise from 12 yards out again when he was brought down but missed. Billy Sharp and Sander Berge would both score in second half stoppage time to seal a 3-1 victory for Sheffield United, setting up a home tie with Tottenham in the fifth round.
Blades striker Billy Sharp took issue with Wrexham’s behaviour throughout the tie after sealing his side’s progression, claiming the Welsh side had looked beyond their fourth round replay.
He said: “It was spicy. Their manager [Phil Parkinson] isn’t happy.
“He’s never happy with me, though, because I always score against him. It is one of them; I’ve got another one over him.”
“I am glad we’ve beaten them,” Sharp added. “They are doing well in their league and we are doing well in ours, but I wasn’t happy with a few of their players there.
“The way they’ve been as a club before the game, eyeing up Spurs before the game – they had not even beaten us.
“They thought we would just roll over when they got back in it and I think the referee was helping them as well, I don’t think he gave me one foul all night.”
Wrexham recently posted a picture of Elliott Lee and his teammates copying Spurs’ forward Son Heung-min’s celebration during a 2-0 win over Aldershot in November, before the draw for the fifth round had been made. Lee said he had heard through Tottenham and Wales defender Ben Davies that Son is a ‘massive Wrexham fan now’.
🔴⚪️ #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/zVmAmjBXW7
— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) January 30, 2023
Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson revealed Sharp had made a scene in the tunnel after the game and defended his players.
He said: “I was a bit disappointed with Billy, with some of the things he was shouting down the tunnel.
“He’s a fantastic player but I thought he was disrespectful after the game. The way their players celebrated was a mark of how tough we made it for them. My message to Billy is: you’re better than that. My players are humble people and they’re a credit to the football club.”
Wrexham captain Ben Tozer added: “I feel like a bit of a dampener has been put on the game with the way they’ve acted in the tunnel, if I’m being honest with you.
“They showed a real lack of humility, but listen that’s the way they want to be. I feel like if we’d won that game we’d have shown a lot more humility and respect.
On Sharp, he added: “He should show more respect to us, and telling us to ‘Shove it!’ on the documentary, I feel like it’s just fabricated stuff in his head to make it acceptable for himself if I’m honest with you.”
Credit: 90min.com
