‘He played his part’: Dermot Gallagher praises referee for what he did during West Ham vs Newcastle

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West Ham United vs Newcastle United was another Premier League game where the referee was at the centre of controversy.

While it was an exceptional game of football that extended Newcastle‘s unbeaten run in all competitions to seven games, it was a match that Hammers fans will believe was taken away from them by the officials.

David Moyes’ side took advantage of Newcastle’s slow start and took the lead early thanks to Tomas Soucek, and should have been playing against 10 men shortly after.

Bruno Guimaraes was booked for a foul on Emerson Palmieri, and was extremely lucky to avoid getting a second for a lunging challenge on James Ward-Prowse. The Brazilian attempted to stop West Ham’s counterattack by winning back possession, but was only able to take out the man.

There would have been no complaints if Bruno had been sent off for two yellow cards, and now former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has given his verdict on the incident.

Former referee admits Bruno Guimaraes was ‘lucky’ during West Ham 2 Newcastle 2

Speaking on Sky Sports News, Gallagher has admitted that Bruno Guimaraes was lucky not to be sent off against West Ham. However, he has also praised the referee Peter Bankes for letting the game flow.

“Extremely lucky,” he said, when asked if Bruno was fortunate to not be given a red card.

“If he gets a second yellow card there, none of us are going to argue. I think he’s got really really lucky.

“The referee let the game flow. I watched this live. He played his part in making it a really good game to watch. Whether he felt ‘that’s just a foul, it’s not breaking up a promising attack’. But it’s difficult to say anything other than you anticipate him going.”

Gallagher added: “I always say the clues are there. The clue is Guimaraes [his reaction]. He looks ‘what have I done, I should never have put myself in that position’.”

West Ham are rightly annoyed

The decision not to send Bruno off was controversial, but it was not the only incident that riled the West Ham faithul.

Newcastle’s equaliser came from the Hammers failing to defend a free kick from Kieran Trippier, but they will argue that it never should have been a free kick in the first place.

A tussle between Sandro Tonali and Lucas Paqueta ended in the Italian on the deck and Peter Bankes blowing his whistle. However, replays showed that there wasn’t much in it for it to be considered a foul.

But even still, West Ham have to look at themselves there and accept that they should have defended better. That is the route David Moyes took, so credit to him for that.

While West Ham will be extremely angry with the officials after the 2-2 draw, Dermot Gallagher thinks Bankes deserves some praise for his role in a fantastic game of football – even if he did miss an obvious red card early on.

I’m not sure West Ham fans will share Gallagher’s sentiments, while the Toon Army are just grateful that Bruno was spared.