In spite of Fabian Schar’s red card, Newcastle United kicked off the new Premier League season with a win against Southampton.
The Magpies won 1-0 on Saturday, but had to really dig in to pick up all three points at St James’ Park.
That is because Newcastle United played more than an hour with 10 men. Fabian Schar was sent off in the 28th minute, after being involved in a coming together with Southampton forward Ben Brereton Diaz.
Schar and Brereton Diaz went head-to-head after the Swiss defender was needlessly barged over, which resulted in the Chile international flinging himself to the ground in embarrassing fashion.
Former Premier League referee Mike Dean said it was a soft red card for Schar, while Southampton manager Russell Martin described it as a ‘moment of madness’.
What the incident did do was bring the Newcastle United crowd to life, as St James’ Park became a cauldron of noise amid a sense of injustice. Brereton Diaz was emphatically booed at every opportunity, while a big tackle on him from Sean Longstaff was celebrated as if it was a goal.
Alan Shearer makes Fabian Schar admission after slamming ‘pathetic’ Ben Brereton Diaz
The incident galvanised the St James’ Park crowd, but it made it very difficult for the 10 Newcastle players that were still on the pitch.
That is the view of Toon legend Alan Shearer, who has spoke to The Rest Is Football podcast about the ‘pathetic’ incident on Saturday.
“I mean, it’s pathetic behaviour from Brereton Diaz, isn’t it, in terms of the way he goes down,” he said.
“But when you stick your head in, and both players did it, by the way, it was both Schar and him, both stuck their heads together, it was just the reaction of Brereton Diaz that got Schar the red card.
“When you do that, you can’t really complain, you are always going to get a red card, and he got it and made it really difficult for his teammates.”
Alan Shearer’s assessment is very fair
I think Shearer is spot on with his assessment of the incident. Brereton Diaz’s actions were embarrassing. However, Schar did give the referee a decision to make. He was suckered in by Brereton Diaz and took the bait.
But while Brereton Diaz may have been thinking ‘job done’, his actions actually ended up costing his team.
It motivated the Newcastle players and fans, who felt they had been wronged. It also made it even harder for Southampton, who were inept at creating chances despite dominating possession.
Newcastle defended resolutely, with Emil Krafth playing brilliantly when he came on in the aftermath of Schar’s dismissal.
From Schar’s perspective, he will understandably be annoyed. He did put his head in, but so did Brereton Diaz. The only difference was that Schar did not hurl himself to the ground. And that resulted in Schar getting an early bath and Brereton Diaz staying on the pitch.
It was completely wrong, and all it does is incentivise players to go down like that in an attempt to get an opponent sent off.
Which Newcastle United games Fabian Schar will be suspended for
On this occasion it worked, and now Schar will be banned for three games. He will miss the trip to Bournemouth on Sunday, followed by the Carabao Cup contest with Nottingham Forest.
The final game of his suspension will be the September 1st clash with Tottenham Hotspur. That is Newcastle’s first game after the transfer window has closed, and it will be interesting to see if another centre-back has arrived by then.
The Magpies are aiming to bring in a player who will be Schar’s long-term replacement, with Newcastle still feeling like they can sign Marc Guehi.
The next time Schar can play for Newcastle is away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 15th.
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