Newcastle United came out 1-0 winners against Wolves on Saturday, but they could have found much more success had VAR intervened during the game.
While it was not the perfect performance from the Magpies, fans will remember it as the game that Nick Woltemade arrived on Tyneside.
The towering striker leapt like the late Wyn Davies to get on the end of Jacob Murphy’s cross and head home in the first half. That goal was enough to secure Newcastle United’s first win of the season and gave them a big confidence boost at the beginning of a busy schedule.
Newcastle were unlucky not to score more than just once; however, Sandro Tonali saw an effort crash off the post just before half-time, while Murphy’s close-range finish was called back for offside.
Meanwhile, Wolves may feel they were lucky not to go down to 10 men in the first half following an incident between Harvey Barnes and Yerson Mosquera. VAR checked and cleared it, but did former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher have the same view?
Dermot Gallagher thinks VAR made the right call during Newcastle United vs Wolves
Newcastle fans believed Mosquera should have seen a red card, while others believed it should have also been a penalty. Despite that, VAR did not instruct referee Chris Kavanagh to go to the monitor and check the decision.
Thankfully, it did not have an impact on the final result of the game, but there would have surely been an uproar if it had cost them.
While it was waved away, Gallagher agreed that it should have been deemed as a foul, but did not believe it was worthy of a red card.
“I think it’s a foul and a yellow card but it’s not in the penalty area,” he said on Sky Sports Ref Watch.
“I don’t think it’s a penalty.
“Barnes is not in possession of the ball. Definitely foul, but just a yellow card.”
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Jay Bothroyd believes Newcastle United were denied a penalty against Wolves
The decision was overshadowed by Woltemade’s goal and subsequent praise for the striker, but a penalty would have helped their goal difference and given them a slightly bigger buffer to Fulham in 10th.
Fans will hope that there are no controversial decisions when Newcastle host Barcelona in the Champions League on Thursday, as they have already experienced enough controversy from their last time in the competition.
While Gallagher was adamant that Newcastle were not completely wronged by Kavanagh or VAR, former Wolves and Cardiff City striker Jay Bothroyd believes Eddie Howe’s side should have had the man advantage.
“I think it’s a penalty,” he said.
“Barnes has run onto the ball there and the defender has charged into him. And it’s a forearm smash into his face as well.
“Anywhere else on the pitch, that’s a foul. I don’t know what the referee is looking at.”
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