Queens Park Rangers forward Charlie Austin has admitted that he believes the decision to disallow his goal in the club's League Cup clash with Sunderland yesterday was an appalling mistake by the officials.

The 32-year-old headed the ball into the back of the net from close-range in the 80th minute but was deemed to be offside.

Austin went on to miss a penalty in the shoot-out as Sunderland booked their place in the quarter-finals of the competition by scoring three of their spot-kicks.

VAR is not set to be utilised in the League Cup until the semi-finals take place in January.

Having been knocked out of the competition by Lee Johnson's side, QPR will now be determined to push on in the Championship under the guidance of manager Mark Warburton.

Set to face Nottingham Forest at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium on Friday, the Hoops will move into the play-off places if they seal all three points in-front of their supporters.

Making reference to what was a game-defining moment in Tuesday's clash with Sunderland, Austin expressed his frustration at the decision that was made by the officials.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Austin said: "When I headed it in I had a split look at the linesman and he hasn't put his flag up straight away, waited four or five seconds and [it] wasn't until I was celebrating he put his flag up.

"It was an appalling decision, you could hear the frustration in the manager's voice after."

Austin later added: "Unfortunately it was one of those things, it was human error and I get it, but it's a hell of an error to get wrong."

The Verdict

Austin has every right to be upset with this decision as the replays clearly illustrated that he wasn't offside.

The forward will now need to dust himself down ahead of the club's meeting with Forest later this week.

Providing that Austin is given the nod to start up-front in this fixture, he will need to step up to the mark for QPR as he has only managed to score one goal for the club in the Championship this season.

By adding to his overall goal-tally in this particular fixture, Austin could potentially become a mainstay in the Hoops' starting eleven for the foreseeable future as his side look to launch a push for a top-six finish this season.