Manchester United legend, Wayne Rooney has criticized Nottingham Forest manager, Nuno Espirito Santo for his decision not to start Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi in his side's FA Cup quarter-final win against Brighton on Saturday.
According to the former England international, ‘it's beyond belief' and he would have been ‘fuming’ if he was a Nottingham fan after Santo opted to rest both key players against Brighton.
Recall that Nottingham Forest booked their place in the FA Cup semi-final after beating Brighton on penalty shoot-out following a 0-0 draw after 120 minutes.
Hudson-Odoi and Elanga had to wait until the 61st minute to be introduced into the FA Cup clash.
The likes of Taiwo Awoniyi, Ryan Yates and Danilo all started in the starting XI ahead of Elanga, Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood, who is recovery from injury.
“I’m shocked,” Rooney said on the BBC’s pre-match coverage when asked about Santo’s decision to rest Hudson-Odoi and Elanga.
“I think the FA Cup is such a prestigious tournament and to rest players in the quarter-final when you’ve got a great opportunity to get to the semi-finals... they are trying to get into Champions League football which is fine, it’s great.
“But as a player, you want to play, you want to get momentum, you want to keep trying to win games.
“To leave players out... if I was a fan, I would d be fuming. You want to win silverware and this is a great opportunity.
“To leave players out when they are not guaranteed to win the game on Tuesday is beyond belief for me.”
Nottingham Forest will face Manchester United in the Premier League in their next game on Tuesday.
