Newcastle United earned a point after a hectic draw against Bournemouth on Saturday but there was one refereeing decision that was a big topic of debate after the game.
The Magpies were once again fortunate to steal a point after being in a losing position in the second half at St James’ Park for the second game running.
In the game, Newcastle were awarded a penalty for a shirt pull on Fabian Schar which Dermot Gallagher has now claimed on Sky Sports was the right decision after receiving feedback from PGMOL.
Gallagher says referee got Newcastle decision spot on
After conceding the first goal thanks to a Martin Dubravka slip early in the first half, it’s fair to say that Newcastle needed a bit of luck to get back into the game and they received that just a few minutes after Dominic Solanke’s opener.
Kieran Trippier had whipped a free-kick into the box which initially appeared to come to nothing as Bournemouth were awarded a free-kick themselves for an offside from Newcastle.
However, on reflection VAR had sent referee Michael Salisbury to the monitor because of a shirt pull on Schar which had occurred inside the box.
Bournemouth were left furious as the Swiss defender had actually been in an offside position, but because he was not impacting play when the foul happened Newcastle were awarded the penalty.
On Sky Sports, Gallagher said: “The feedback I got is he does not impact, the offence has occurred long before the ball has come. He is in an offside position, but he has not committed an offside offence yet, because the ball has not got to him and therefore the penalty was given.
“The on-field decision was offside, the VAR looked and decided it should be a penalty. We cannot argue there is a shirt pull, he then decided it was not an offside offence because the ball was so far from the player it had no impact on that player being in an offside position.”
Newcastle get a bit of luck go their way
Newcastle will feel so hard done by this season because of the sheer amount of injuries they’ve had to deal with, with most of them not being your typical footballing injuries.
The Geordies have also had some huge VAR decisions go against them this year – the penalty decision in the last minute against PSG in the Champions League being the most impactful and unbelievable of the lot.
So, Eddie Howe won’t mind getting the rub of the green for once, especially with his team not playing at their very best in the last three games and still managing to maintain this little five game unbeaten run they’ve started.
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