Bradford manager Graham Alexander questioned the role of the fourth official after a controversial incident in their 1-0 win over Doncaster.
Tyreik Wright’s well-struck volley ended a run of three straight defeats but the main talking point at Valley Parade was a disallowed goal against debutant Kayden Jackson.
Referee Craig Hicks initially gave it but then changed his mind after fourth official Paul Marsden came on to the pitch to consult him.
Alexander said: “When we question a decision on the pitch, the fourth officials will say that he’s right there and closer to it than me. We hear that regardless of what they think has happened.
“He was under massive pressure from the opposition bench and I could hear them saying they’d seen it. He said he saw it live.
“We see it at the top level with VAR. How they come around with the decisions is not consistent.
“I know when we’re questioning other things that go on on the pitch, a lot of the feedback is the referee is much closer to them than me. They can’t have it both ways for me.”
Doncaster manager Grant McCann felt it was the correct decision.
He said: “It’s just a handball. The rule is if there’s a handball leading to a goal, then it gets ruled out.
“What amazes me, and probably why everyone was so frustrated, is we’ve got the linesman 12 yards away and a referee four or five yards away and they can’t see it.
“That’s where you get frustrated as a manager. That’s where you end up getting yourself in trouble.
“I’m glad the man in the dug-out, who usually, from what we’ve seen this season, doesn’t say much, has called it.”
Doncaster, unbeaten in their previous four games, had their chances as Hakeeb Adelakun headed against the bar and Billy Sharp was denied by Matt Pennington’s block on the line.
Bradford also hit the woodwork through Max Power and Bobby Pointon before substitute Wright’s emphatic 81st-minute finish from a Josh Neufville cross.
Alexander said: “It was a brilliant finish. The biggest thing for me was that he trusted himself to go for it and not bring it down and play safe.
“We talk about going for it all the time and you’re never going to get any repercussions. We’re right in behind it and to see it go in the top corner, it was a brilliant goal.”
McCann added: “I thought it was a close game. We had two really good chances in the first half and on another day we score.
“I felt we defended everything they threw at us again. We knew they’re first in the league for long balls, so we knew we had to come here and defend.
“But the one moment that we don’t stop a cross from Neufville and we don’t see the opposite wing-back, we’ve conceded.”
