Ex-ref rules on controversial Newcastle United incident after ‘very soft’ Bournemouth complaints

Dermot Gallagher has shed light on why Newcastle United were awarded a penalty during their 2-2 draw with Bournemouth. After initially waving away protests following a foul on Fabian Schar by Adam Smith, referee Michael Salisbury was asked to review the footage on the pitchside monitor with the controversy centering on whether Schar, who was stood in an offside position when the free-kick was delivered, was interfering with play or not.

After a very lengthy review of the footage, Salisbury pointed to the spot for a penalty that was duly converted by Anthony Gordon. Speaking on Ref Watch on Sky Sports, Gallagher revealed why the penalty was awarded and why Schar wasn’t judged to be offside, and thus, a free-kick given the other way. 

Gallagher said: “Is it a shirt pull and should it result in a penalty? Yes. Is he in an offside position? Does he [Schar] impact?

“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.”

Speaking post-match, an irate Andoni Iraola blasted the decision, saying: “For me it is very difficult to accept the result. I cannot accept the first goal they scored, the penalty decision.

“He [Schar] is in an offside position. I have been talking to the referees after the game.

“I am not smart enough to understand their explanations. I think if we are only talking about the foul, it is a very soft, soft foul for a set piece, because in set pieces and corners everyone grabs, goes to the floor and they do not call anything all season. But if they call a foul, we will complain, but we have to accept it."