Jason Tindall 'surprised' as Premier League issue Newcastle United statement after Crystal Palace controversy

Newcastle were leading 1-0 thanks to a Jacob Murphy strike when Palace were awarded a penalty following a lengthy VAR check for a foul from goalkeeper Nick Pope.

Darren England eventually pointed to the spot after consulting the VAR monitor and Eberichi Eze stepped up only to be denied by Pope. And Palace were made to rue their golden chance for an equaliser nine minutes before half-time as Newcastle went on to score a further three goals before the break.

A Marc Guehi own goal came two minutes after the saved penalty before Harvey Barnes and Fabian Schar scored to make it 4-0 at the break. Alexander Isak made it 5-0 in the second half as Newcastle moved up to third in the table.

Jason Tindall ‘surprised’ by penalty decision

“Yeah, the moments can quite easily go against you,” Tindall said. “At the time I felt Nick got a touch on the ball, I was surprised when the penalty was given.

“But I've not really been able to see that back clear enough to probably make a real honest assessment of that. But as you say, Nick gave it away and he obviously made a good save from the penalty.

“And just credit to the players, any type of setback they've had in the past, they've always responded in the right way. Again tonight, could have quite easily went the other way, but they've stepped up, they've responded in the right way and delivered a really good performance.”

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Premier League release Newcastle United v Crystal Palace VAR statement

VAR felt the need to intervene with the on-field decision not to award Palace a penalty and after a long look at the monitor, the referee eventually pointed to the penalty spot.

As always, the Premier League Match Centre released a statement on the decision, explaining why a penalty was given: “#NEWCRY – 31’ VAR OVERTURN.

“VAR checked the referee’s call of no penalty to Crystal Palace for a challenge by Pope on Richards – and deemed there was sufficient contact for a penalty and recommended an on-field review. The referee overturned the original decision and awarded a penalty to Crystal Palace.”

Jason Tindall reacts to 5-0 Newcastle United win

Tindall has now taken charge of two Newcastle matches in the absence of head coach Eddie Howe, who has been suffering from pneumonia. The Magpies beat Manchester United 4-1 on Sunday before following it up with their biggest win of the season on Wednesday night.

But Tindall wasn’t interested in the plaudits as he diverted the credit onto the Newcastle players and his fellow coaches.

“Full credit to the players, and everybody, players, staff, and as I said on the weekend, the fans also the players' attitude and mentality, the delivery of the tactical game plan has been excellent,” Tindall said. “To go out there and execute it in the way that they have done, to deliver the performances that they have done, to score them goals and to get the points.”

When asked if he’d had any message from Howe following the win, Tindall added: “I did just see one [text] congratulating the performance, the team, and myself and the staff, so it was a nice message.”

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