Wrexham owner Ryan Reynolds questions English Football League rules: ‘It’s insane’

Wrexham need seven points from their final four games to guarantee they end a 15-year absence from the Football League

Ryan Reynolds has questioned English Football League rules following Wrexham’s dramatic win over promotion rivals Notts County on Easter Monday.

The Hollywood actor was at the Racecourse Ground alongside co-owner Rob McElhenney to watch Wrexham clinch a thrilling 3-2 victory after goalkeeper Ben Foster made a 97th-minute penalty save.

The win leaves Wrexham on the verge of clinching the single automatic promotion spot to League Two and a return to the Football League for the first time since relegation in 2008, and means Notts County will need to go through the play-offs despite amassing more than 100 points this season.

But Reynolds described the fact that only one club is automatically promoted from the National League as “insane”.

“It’s just insane to me in this league that only one goes up automatically,” Hollywood star Reynolds told BT Sport after Wrexham had moved three points clear of Notts County with a game in hand.

“If it were different – and I think it should be – both of these clubs would be celebrating together right now because what they’ve done is not only created drama unlike anything you’d ever see in a damn movie, but something that I think people will be talking about for ages.

“The fact that this much attention has come upon the National League in this way is incredibly special and immensely worthy of the talents of not only Wrexham, but Notts County as well.”

Wrexham took the upper hand in the title race in dramatic fashion after falling behind to John Bostock’s spectacular free-kick on the stroke of half-time.

Paul Mullin and Jacob Mendy fired the Dragons into a 2-1 lead with 20 minutes remaining before Kyle Cameron headed County level.

Elliot Lee restored the home side’s lead but Wrexham were indebted to 40-year-old former England goalkeeper Ben Foster for saving Cedwyn Scott’s penalty in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

Reynolds said: “I don’t feel like I have a heart any more. I think I used all the beats I had left during that match. That was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before and indicative of all of you lifers who have watched and participated in this beautiful, torturous game.

“I’m used to working under extreme pressure but usually I have some kind of say in it and some control over it. I have nothing here. All I can do is watch and hope like everybody else.

“I am actually grateful in this moment that I didn’t care about this years ago because it would have just eaten me alive. It’s troubling how hooked I am. I don’t know how to quantify what just happened.

“I feel an immense sense of pride, the inner strength these guys have. It’s such a mental game and they rose to the occasion in every way. But also what makes it so special is how powerful and unique Notts County is. There’s a real story here.

“What they’ve done this season, losing their CEO Jason Turner (who died last month), and I have enormous respect for what they’ve built and everything they’ve done. It was a pressure cooker coming into this for both teams. But what both have achieved is historic on every level, I don’t think I have seen anything quite like that.”

Additional reporting by PA