Newcastle United fans were irate after being denied a penalty in the 2-0 defeat to West Ham.
The Magpies let a huge opportunity slip on Monday evening by suffering defeat against the Hammers at St James’ Park.
Newcastle United started brightly but lost control of the match after Tomas Soucek scored against the run of play. Eddie Howe made changes at the break but was unable to inspire a comeback with Aaron Wan-Bissaka doubling the visitors’ lead.
One of Howe’s changes was the introduction of Callum Wilson, who came off the bench for his first appearance of the season.
Wilson has recently returned from injury but was thrown on to try and get Newcastle back into the game. He almost did exactly that when he appealed for a penalty late on.
Callum Wilson denied penalty in Newcastle vs West Ham
Howe revealed Wilson is frustrated at his game time earlier this week after spending the start of the season injured.
Alexander Isak has shouldered the responsibility of leading the line for Newcastle but Wilson will now be expected to chip in with goals now he is back fit.
He injected energy and danger into Newcastle’s attack after coming off the bench against West Ham and arguably he should have been awarded a penalty late on.
West Ham defender Konstantinos Mavropanos challenged Wilson in the box following a cross but referee Craig Pawson waved away the penalty appeals.
Premier League publish statement on Newcastle VAR controversy
Wilson’s penalty appeal was sent to VAR, which was manned by Chris Kavanagh at Stockley Park.
However, they stuck with the on-pitch decision and instructed Pawson to play on.
Their decision has now been explained on social media through the Premier League Match Centre.
Via X, formerly known as Twitter, their statement read: “The referee’s call of no penalty for the challenge by Mavropanos on Wilson was checked and confirmed by VAR, deeming that the contact was not sufficient for a penalty.”
The penalty decision split opinion with Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Theo Walcott disagreeing over whether it should have been awarded. Walcott argued Mavropanos was lucky to get away with the challenge while Carragher believes the right decision was made.
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