Never mind Bradford, Sunderland's cup win shocked BBC

The BBC received criticism after it did not show Bradford’s FA Cup victory on Sunday.

Now a statement from the corporation indicates it made the call not to screen the tie because it figured Championship Fulham would beat Sunderland in the sides' fourth-round replay.

BBC must select the ties it plans to show before any replays are resolved and felt Bradford v Fulham wouldn't attract viewers.

BBC executive Mark Cole wrote: "The TV match selections for the 5th round of the FA Cup caused a bit of a reaction yesterday, so I wanted to use this post to explain in a bit more detail how the selection process works.

"You still might not agree with our picks, particularly if you’re from Bradford, but hopefully you’ll see there’s a bit of logic to what we try to do.

"As Gary Lineker mentioned yesterday, the hardest thing is that both the BBC and BT have to make our selections before the outcome of replays. That’s the only reason why Phil Parkinson’s side didn’t get a live match this time round.

"We had to weigh up the options and given Sunderland’s recent form, thought it was a realistic possibility of the match being League One against a Championship side.

In this case it wouldn’t have been much of a shock whatever the result and the winners would be guaranteed a live Quarter-Final, as Reading have done by progressing at Derby.

"If Bradford definitely had a home tie against Premier League opposition we certainly would have chosen to have the match live on BBC One. That has been a big part of our policy so far, showing AFC Wimbledon, Cambridge, Bristol City and tonight Preston, all looking to overcome opposition from the top flight."

"As the game unfolded yesterday at Valley Parade, we shared the frustration of fans and would have loved to have been broadcasting the match live. It’s everything the FA Cup and our new comprehensive coverage is about."