Ex-referee delivers 'lucky' verdict on Newcastle United incident v Arsenal as Nick Woltemade fumes
Ref Watch has run the rule over all the major flashpoints from Newcastle United 1-2 Arsenal.
Newcastle United’s stuttering start to the season continued with a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday, in a game packed with incidents and talking points.
The Magpies took the lead in the first half through Nick Woltemade, but surrendered it late on at St. James’ Park, with Mikel Merino equalising in the 84th minute before Gabriel’s stoppage-time winner. But the goals were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to incidents, and Sky Sports’ Ref Watch has run the rule over the biggest talking points.
Here is what former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher and ex-Charlton and Cardiff striker Jay Bothroyd had to say about the flashpoints.
Nick Pope spared penalty punishment
The first major talking point came in the 14th minute, when referee Jarred Gillett awarded a penalty to Arsenal after Nick Pope appeared to bring down Viktor Gyokeres inside the box. However, after being brought to the screen by VAR Darren England, Gillett overturned his original decision, spotting a touch on the ball from Pope before he connected with Gyokeres.
"After review, the Newcastle goalkeeper plays the ball and there is no foul. The final decision is drop ball,” Gillett announced to the St. James’ Park crowd. Gallagher admitted it was a tough one to call for the referee and his assistants, but ultimately agreed they made the right decision.
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"I think it shows how difficult it was with Gary Neville going from being adamant it was a penalty to being torn when he sees it again,” he said. "Pope does get a touch on the ball. My immediate instinct was penalty... but Pope does plant his foot so he doesn't follow through with the tackle so that's why it was overturned."
The incident was also compared to Robert Sanchez’s red card against Manchester United a week earlier, but Gallagher wasn’t having it.
"It was different,” he said. "He touches the ball and follows through with the tackle... with the Pope one, he touches the ball but he plants his foot and does no more. Pope does not go in to Gyokeres. He's stopping." Gallagher went on to state that Gillett was still well within his rights to uphold his original decision, but that Pope’s contact with the ball was the ‘key factor’.
Newcastle denied penalty
Just moments after Arsenal levelled the game, Newcastle had a major appeal for a penalty denied. The ball appeared to strike Gabriel on the arm, but a VAR review backed up Gillett’s original call that the Brazilian defender couldn’t get his arm out of the way and, in any case, it had deflected into his arm off his shin.
"This is a really interesting decision,” said Gallagher. "The rule is that if the ball strikes your body and flies up onto your arm, it's not going to be given because it is not possible to get out of the way." Bothroyd added: "It's a tough decision but by the letter of the law, it's the correct one."
‘Lucky’ Gabriel escapes red card for Woltemade clash
Of course, this wasn’t the first (or last) major incident involving Gabriel. The defender was unhappy with Woltemade after the game’s opening goal, accusing the German of pushing him in the back to gain an unfair advantage. However, the contact was weak at best, with Gabriel surely needing to be much stronger when defending a set-piece in his own box.
The pair came to blows again straight from kick off, with Gabriel appearing to strike Woltemade in the face. Luckily for Arsenal, the striker didn’t go down upon contact, while Gabriel didn’t appear to catch him full with the elbow.
Woltemade was not happy with the incident, but while Gabriel was ‘lucky’, Gallagher believes a red card was not warranted. "I think Gabriel is lucky he doesn't actually strike Woltemade properly,” said Gallagher. "Where he is lucky is that the referee hasn't seen it. It's gone to VAR and they don't think it's a red card. I don't think it's a red card. The referee has seen something has happened and what he does well is he calms them down and takes the sting out of the incident."
Bothroyd thinks Gabriel only escaped punishment because of Woltemade’s honesty. "If Woltemade goes down holding his face there's a decision to be made!” he said. "But he's an honest, strong player. Gabriel shouldn't have done it and it could have been costly for Arsenal."
Gabriel would, of course, go on to score the winning goal deep into stoppage time, rubbing further salt in Newcastle wounds and giving them further cause to be disgruntled with some major decisions.
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