Newcastle United snuck into the Champions League spots on Sunday as the Premier League season came to a dramatic close.
Heading into the final day of the campaign, Newcastle United sat fourth in the Premier League table.
The top five teams in the Premier League all qualify for the Champions League. Thankfully, Eddie Howe’s side did just about enough to get over the line.
A dreadful Newcastle lost to Everton on the final day of the season. That, however, did not matter because Manchester United beat Aston Villa, meaning Newcastle qualified for the Champions League on goal difference.
It was perhaps the most dramatic way to qualify but events at Old Trafford proved far more controversial than those at St James’ Park.
Aston Villa star calls for rule change after Newcastle United qualify for the Champions League
Indeed, Villa have every right to be fuming about what happened. Unai Emery’s side were denied what looked like a crucial opener against the Red Devils when Morgan Rogers saw his strike ruled out.
With the score a 0-0, Rogers took the ball from Man Utd goalkeeper Altay Bayindir. He then struck but referee Thomas Bramall had blown the whistle for a foul on Bayindir before the ball hit the back of the net, meaning VAR could not intervene.
Naturally, Villa star John McGinn was fuming about the incident and called for the Premier League to change the rule that meant VAR could not intervene.
Speaking to TNT Sports, McGinn said: “Moving forward, the rule has to be looked at as the correct decisions were not getting made at the end of the day.
“I think [referee] Thomas [Bramall] knew. It probably wasn’t fair on him at that moment either. The boys are gutted. But European football three years in a row, we need to hold onto that and see what next season brings.”
How much money Newcastle United can spend in the summer transfer market
While Newcastle fans will not really care, Villa are right to be furious. At least allowing the goal to stand before reviewing the incident would make sense.
Still, that’s none of Newcastle’s business. The Premier League is played over 38 games and the standings are not defined by one fixture alone. Sure, the margins were fine but Newcastle boasted a significantly better goal difference than Villa.
With Champions League qualification now confirmed, Newcastle could have a summer transfer budget of £150million.
That is seriously exciting for the fans, who haven’t seen the squad strengthened to any meaningful degree since the summer of 2023.
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