Newcastle United 3-0 Fulham: Ex-Premier League referee & Danny Murphy agree on Raul Jimenez red card decision

Former Premier League referee Mike Dean was in doubt over the decision to send off Fulham striker Raul Jimenez at St James' Park on Saturday afternoon, while former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy also agreed with the decision.

Jimenez was initially shown a yellow card as he jumped into Sean Longstaff midway through the first half. The Fulham forward lunged with his leg to win the ball but pulled his leg back after Longstaff got there first. However, he still collided with the Newcastle man and was initially booked for the challenge due to the force behind the collision.

However, VAR recommended an on-field review which saw the challenge upgraded to a red card. Prior to the incident, Jimenez had been caught by a stray elbow from Newcastle defender Jamal Lascelles. The Magpies man escaped punished, and Murphy felt that angered Jimenez prior to his dismissal.

"I think he was angry because he took one in the face from Lascelles, but I think it was just about the right decision [not to send Lascelles off]," said Murphy on BBC's Match of the Day. "He caught him in the face and we have seen people walk from them, so he is probably fuming a little bit. That does not give him an excuse to lose control and jump into silly tackles.

"I think he does take his leg away and realises in mid-air that he is in trouble, he turns away from him to stop the leg hitting him. He is out of control, and I think although a yellow initially seemed okay, the more you see it, most people would say it's a red."

Speaking on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday, Dean said of the incident: "He’s not looking at the player, his whole backside has smashed into the fella’s face. For me it’s a red card, 100 per cent! He just jumps into him. The ball has gone and he’s just jumped at him, it’s really dangerous play in my opinion.

"He doesn’t even have to challenge for the ball, the ball has gone, he just jumps straight at the player."

Newcastle went to on to seal all three points to move sixth in the Premier League table. Lewis Miley opened the scoring just before the hour before Miguel Almiron doubled the lead. Dan Burn put the gloss on the win with a third home goal eight minutes from time. It moves Eddie Howe's side five points behind fourth-placed Manchester City, who drew 2-2 with Crystal Palace on Saturday after throwing away a 2-0 lead at the Etihad Stadium.