Alan Shearer gives his verdict on whether Jhon Duran deserved to be sent off in Newcastle vs Aston Villa

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Newcastle United games are rarely short of controversy.

Newcastle’s win against Aston Villa on Thursday was no different as Villa forward Jhon Duran was shown a straight red card for a stamp on Fabian Schar in the first half.

Referee Anthony Taylor took a moment before brandishing the red card to the 21-year-old much to the dismay of Villa boss Unai Emery on the touchline. VAR confirmed the decision as Duran kicked a water bottle on the touchline.

The Magpies were 1-0 up at the time of the sending off with Anthony Gordon scoring after just one minute before second-half goals from Alexander Isak and Joelinton saw Newcastle leapfrog Villa into fifth place.

It’s three consecutive wins in the Premier League for Newcastle who have now scored 11 goals in their last three league games.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	17	13	3	1	40	17	23	42
2	ChelseaChelsea	18	10	5	3	38	21	17	35
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	18	10	4	4	24	19	5	34
4	ArsenalArsenal	17	9	6	2	34	16	18	33
5	NewcastleNewcastle	18	8	5	5	30	21	9	29
6	B’mouthBournemouth	18	8	5	5	27	21	6	29
7	Man CityManchester City	18	8	4	6	30	26	4	28
8	FulhamFulham	18	7	7	4	26	23	3	28
9	Aston VillaAston Villa	18	8	4	6	26	29	-3	28
10	BrightonBrighton	17	6	7	4	27	26	1	25

There’s no doubt that the red card completely changed the game as Newcastle took control in the second half and now club legend Alan Shearer has delivered his verdict on the incident.

Alan Shearer sympathises with Jhon Duran

When the dust settled, the feeling around Duran’s sending-off was that it was a controversial decision.

Straight after the game, Shearer said Duran’s red card was “harsh” and has since doubled down on those words.

Newcastle’s top scorer spoke on BBC Match of the Day where he, Gary Lineker and Joe Hart assessed the decision.

“I think it’s a harsh decision. I think the referee guesses on the reaction of the player,” Shearer said.

“When Duran plants his left foot, he twists his ankle when he puts it down, so automatically that pushes you to your left-hand side and he has to come back in so that’s why he stands on him. I think it is a harsh decision.

“Once they give it on the pitch, they weren’t going to overturn it. I just thought that he should have just slowed down and taken a bit more time. I thought it was a poor decision.”

Duran’s red card means he will miss Villa’s next three games and with the two teams close together in the Premier League table it gives Newcastle the opportunity to pull away while Villa look to other options up front.

Joelinton nearly saw red against Villa

Goalscorer Joelinton has already been booked six times this season and nearly picked up another suspension when he lashed out at Villa man Morgan Rogers.

Thankfully for Toon fans, it was only a yellow on that occasion but it could’ve been much worse for the 28-year-old.

The Brazilian has already served a ban after picking up five bookings this season, he missed Newcastle’s win against Ipswich but with 14 games until bookings reset it is looking increasingly likely that Joelinton will be handed a two-game suspension at some point this season.

Despite his aggressive playing style, Joelinton has never been sent off for Newcastle, but if VAR looked at the incident with Rogers differently it could’ve been a completely different story for Newcastle and Duran’s sending off may have even been looked upon differently.