‘It’s clear’ - Marco Silva’s brutally honest verdict on key moment between Newcastle United and Fulham

Marco Silva has blasted referee Sam Barrott’s decision to show Raul Jimenez a red card during Fulham’s defeat to Newcastle United. Jimenez was dismissed for serious foul play after catching Sean Longstaff in the face with his hip in a game-changing moment just 22 minutes into the match.

Speaking to BBC post-match, Silva was not happy with Barrott’s performance in what was just his eighth top-flight match as a referee and his first at St James’ Park. Asked about the red card, Silva said: "He lost the momentum to go in but it's not something serious. 

“He jumped into the player but you don’t see something serious, something wrong with the other player. A yellow is right. VAR is trying to find all these moments to give. To justify their job? I don’t know. It’s clear he [Jimenez] lost the momentum. He should have done it in a different way. To go for a red card feels really strange. 

“It was a strange afternoon for the referee. I went to speak with him [afterwards] but he almost ran to the dressing room. It’s what we’re facing right now.

"We did really well [at 11 v 11]. We’re in a very good moment. We came here to fight for three points. The start of the game showed that it was going to be a tough game for Newcastle. When you play with ten the effort is huge. We had our moments. If Alex [Iwobi] had scored the game would have been different. Second half we started controlling really well. “The first goal killed our belief a little bit. That’s normal with ten men. Yellow cards. I had to take some players from the pitch because I thought there were going to be more red cards. Lack of experience clear to me from the referee this afternoon."

Silva was also unhappy that no action was taken against Jamaal Lascelles for a clash between him and Jimenez just moments before the Mexican was shown a red card. Lascelles and the former Wolves man clashed in the middle of the park with Silva accusing the defender of elbowing Jimenez - an incident he believes the referee should have spotted.

Silva said: "Disappointing afternoon. It was probably the quiet game Newcastle needed after the midweek Champions League game. It wasn’t our fault, the quiet game in the end.

"Before the red card it was a clear elbow from Lascelles. He knew Raul was there. The elbow out. Until the 21st minute, all the moments, the referee didn’t give us one foul. For Newcastle it was a free-kick every time.

"These type of games, the referee has to have the ability to handle the pressure because always with the home crowd. The Premier League should decide a referee with the experience and ability to handle pressure. This is the best example of a referee who doesn’t have the experience to handle the pressure. Any doubt, any foul, he didn’t give one. Even the elbow in the face of Raul."