FOOTBALL fans have been left fuming at TNT Sports and Darren Fletcher after he presumed Liverpool would be in the FA Cup fourth round.
The commentator, who was at Anfield for Barnsley’s third round tie against the Reds, said that Liverpool would be facing Brighton next despite still needing to beat their lower league opposition.
Barnsley entered the match in 17th in League One, a world away from Liverpool in the Prem.
But supporters were not impressed by Fletcher jumping the gun during the draw.
When ball no31 was pulled out by Joleon Lescott, Fletcher, 53, said that Liverpool would be playing Brighton in the next round.
His way of writing off Barnsley before a ball had even been kicked led to an angry fan reaction.
One user said: “It’s also frustrating when you get people like Darren Fletcher doing the draw and straight away saying things like ‘so that’s Liverpool against Brighton in round 4’.
“No respect for the club ranked lower in the pyramid.
“Too much favouring of ‘bigger clubs’ as with some TV choices”.
An optimistic Barnsley fan added: “liverpool against brighton, the first tie in the fourth round’ Uhhh and what about when we win tonight”.
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Someone else posted: “The disrespect on Barnsley in this cup draw is insane. ‘So Liverpool against Brighton is the first draw’ f****** hell”.
Fletcher may well have been worried that his words would come back to bite him when Barnsley hit the post early on.
The incident comes just two days after non-league side Macclesfield FC beat cup holders Crystal Palace.
Oliver Glasner’s side were dumped out on Saturday afternoon by a sixth-tier team full of semi pros.
Arne Slot rotated his XI but still chose captain Virgil van Dijk as well as Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai from the start.
