Alan Shearer was almost left furious as Bournemouth came close to snatching victory against Newcastle United.
The Magpies picked up their third consecutive 0-0 draw away from home on Sunday, as a much-changed Toon side picked up a point at the Vitality Stadium.
Newcastle’s draw with Bournemouth will go down as a good result, but it was a game that will be best remembered for some curious refereeing decisions.
Nick Woltemade should have been awarded a penalty at one end, while Newcastle were lucky themselves at the other. Malick Thiaw should have been sent off for two yellow cards, on what was his first Toon start.
They were the two big talking points, but there was a third decision that Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker thought was absolutely ‘ludicrous’.
Handball decision enraged Alan Shearer during Bournemouth vs Newcastle United
In the 91st minute, Justin Kluivert’s low free-kick was smartly saved by Nick Pope. It came about from a shocking decision, with Harvey Barnes penalised for a handball on the edge of the box. That is despite the fact that his hand was by his side, and that a shot had been blasted at him from about a yard away.
Ultimately, the decision did not cost Eddie Howe’s side. However, Gary Lineker was expecting to speak to a furious Alan Shearer on the Rest Is Football podcast had the free-kick gone in.
The duo reflected on the game on the latest episode of the podcast, at a time when Shearer was encountering travel problems in America.
Shearer: “I was thinking, come on, give me a bit of excitement. A good result at Bournemouth, but it was a pretty drab and dire game, wasn’t it? It was awful.”
Lineker: “It wasn’t great. I thought actually the first half an hour was all right. It was quite end to end and it had quite a good pace to it. And then it just kind of petered out to nothing. Do you know what I was thinking? Alan’s going to do this podcast in a minute. Bournemouth are going to score. You know, right near the end, they got a free kick on the edge of the box.”
Shearer: “Terrible decision, the handball?”
Lineker: “The handball. It was ludicrous, wasn’t it? And they wouldn’t have been able to turn it over because it was not a penalty. It was just outside. And I was thinking, Alan’s going to go absolutely ballistic if this goes in. I mean, he blasted it at him from about a yard. He had his hands by his side. It was just ludicrous.”
Shearer: “I would have told you where to go if that had gone in and we had have been beaten 1-0. I just wouldn’t have come on.”
Eddie Howe extends poor Newcastle United record
As Shearer says, Newcastle picked up a good point away to Bournemouth. They have been flying so far this season, while Howe heavily rotated his side after losing to Barcelona in the Champions League.
The Newcastle United manager freshened up his side by making seven changes. He left Bruno Guimaraes on the bench, which was a very bold decision.
Without Bruno, the Magpies could only draw. It has to go down as a positive result, but it does extend Eddie Howe’s poor record against his former club.
Since replacing Steve Bruce at St James’ Park, Howe has taken on Bournemouth seven times in the Premier League. He is yet to win any of those games, drawing five and losing two.
Howe’s only win over the Cherries came in the Carabao Cup in December 2022.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
