Southampton pulled off a shock 1-0 victory over Fulham in the FA Cup fifth round, a match marred by controversial refereeing decisions. The Championship side secured their quarter-final spot thanks to Ross Stewart's late penalty, but the game's talking points centered around referee Jarred Gillett's performance. Fulham's frustration was compounded by a bizarre first-half incident where they thought they'd scored, only for play to be stopped.

In the 18th minute, a quick goal-kick by Southampton's Daniel Peretz ricocheted off Ryan Manning to Rodrigo Muniz, who slotted home. However, Gillett had already blown his whistle, ruling the goal out. Replays showed the ball had stopped rolling before Peretz's kick, but VAR couldn't intervene due to the early whistle. Former Fulham boss Chris Coleman called it "really hard on Fulham," saying "the ball had stopped."

Gillett's controversial calls continued in the second half, denying Fulham another potential goal when he stopped play for a foul instead of letting Cyle Larin continue his run. Southampton capitalized on their reprieve, with Finn Azaz hitting the bar before winning a late penalty. Stewart converted from the spot in stoppage time, sending the Saints through while leaving Fulham and manager Marco Silva to rue a "really bad day" full of contentious decisions.