Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg believes Newcastle United were hard done by during their draw with Chelsea on Saturday.
Eddie Howe’s side dropped yet more points as Newcastle United drew 2-2 with Chelsea at St James’ Park.
A Nick Woltemade brace after fine work from Anthony Gordon had the Magpies sitting pretty at the break but goals from Reece James and Joao Pedro pegged them back.
Who was Newcastle United’s MOTM against Chelsea?!
Strange to say there are a few choices given the result!
That now makes it 13 points dropped from winning positions in the Premier League this season.
Still, there were elements of a promising performance here. Indeed, Gordon was excellent and should arguably have been awarded a penalty when the score was still 2-1.
The Newcastle forward was brought down by an aggressive shoulder barge from Trevoh Chalobah and while it was checked by VAR, nothing was given.
Clattenburg, however, does not agree.
Mark Clattenburg thinks Anthony Gordon should have had a penalty during Newcastle United vs Chelsea
Speaking exclusively to Geordie Boot Boys, Clattenburg expressed his belief that VAR made a mistake over the incident.
Clattenburg does not believe that Chalobah was trying to play the ball in that action, hence why it should have been a penalty.
It was a major moment in the game and helped give the Blues a platform to claim a point on Tyneside.
“Trevoh Chalobah barges into Anthony Gordon inside the penalty area and sends Gordon crashing to the ground,” he said.
“One can argue that it was a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge, but a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge should be allowed only when trying to play the ball.
“In this case, Chalobah barges into him without playing the ball and this in my opinion should have been a penalty kick.”
How bad was the decision not to give Anthony Gordon a penalty after he was brought down by Trevoh Chalobah?! 😡
Looked like a clear peno!
Premier League confirm why Anthony Gordon was not given a penalty against Chelsea
During the match, the Premier League’s Official Match Centre communicated why the on-field decision was not overturned.
The likes of Ally McCoist and Joe Cole on commentary duty suggested Gordon should have been given the spot-kick, which he would have almost certainly got up to take.
However, in a statement posted on X, the Premier League wrote: “The referee’s call of no penalty to Newcastle was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the contact from Chalobah on Gordon deemed to be side-to-side in a shielding action and the ball within playing distance.”
It would be unwise to blame the penalty decision alone, however. Newcastle let the game slip through their fingers and that cannot be ignored.
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