It was inevitable that Ayoze Perez would score on his return to St James’ Park.
The Spaniard received a late Christmas present from Florian Lejeune, who handed his former teammate the opportunity to score a goal we all feared was coming.
Perez jumped at the chance, skipping past Fabian Schar before finding the bottom corner to give his new side the lead.
He’d been booed from the first minute, and responded with his trademark ‘fingers in ears’ celebration. This enraged some Toon supporters, angered by the fact he would celebrate in front of the fans he once called his own.
Was it disrespectful? A little, but nothing to cry about. It’s not like he ripped his shirt off and ran laps of the pitch. It was just a subtle nod to the boos he’d been getting. That’s exactly where it came from when he was a Newcastle player and his own ‘fans’ were booing him.
Anything that could have gone wrong against Leicester did, and the writing was on the wall for Perez to score as soon as he was announced in the starting XI.
His celebration has got a mixed response from fans, with some blasting the former Toon hero, while others don’t blame him at all.
Perez celebration causes debate between Newcastle fans
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