06 January 2024 , 20:35
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Rory Finneran became Blackburn's youngest-ever player on Saturday, but the 15-year-old was forced to wear a sponsorless shirt because he is too young to vape.
Finneran, who was born in February 2008, came on for his Blackburn debut in stoppage time as Jon Dahl Tomasson's side swept aside Cambridge 5-2 in the FA Cup. The teenager replaced hat-trick hero Sammie Szmodics for the final few minutes at Ewood Park.
However, Finneran had to wear a different jersey than the rest of his Blackburn teammates. This is because Blackburn are sponsored by vape company Totally Wicked, who became the official shirt sponsor midway through the 2021/22 campaign. As Finneran is under the legal age - which is 18 - to vape in the United Kingdom, he couldn't don the sponsored shirt and was forced to wear a sponsorless jersey.
It appears that Finneran's shirt would have been the same if Blackburn had been sponsored by a cigarette, gambling or alcohol brand. Finneran was named on the bench for Rovers' 2-1 victory over Bristol City last month but didn't end up coming on. But with Blackburn cruising against Cambridge, Tomasson decided to hand the Irishman his chance, though there was a matter of minutes remaining.
As for the game itself, Blackburn eased to the fourth round as Szmodics netted his first career hat-trick, while Arnor Sigurdsson and Harry Leonard scored late on after an early scare from their League One opponents. Speaking after the game, Rovers boss Tomasson commented on his side's performance and handed the likes of Finneran a chance.
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"The development of Sammie is great to see," he told BBC Radio Lancashire. "He's a team player, a goalscorer who is very good at doing all the concrete things, and then he has scored all those goals, his first hat-trick, and got an assist.
15-year-old Rory Finneran in action for Blackburn against Cambridge (Getty Images)"We all know the charm of these games when you're playing a side from a level lower in the league, who suddenly rise and make it difficult. You can lose those games and I was disappointed with the two goals we conceded.
"The crowd helped us through that time and the players showed great character, togetherness and spirit to come back. We scored five goals and it could have been 10.
"It was great to see a couple of young boys getting minutes, Ryan Finneran at just 15. He's a talented boy able to play with left and right, and has great vision - but we shouldn't forget he's still very young. It was a good opportunity to give him some experience."