Newcastle United issued brutal Champions League 'reminder' after UEFA controversy

Newcastle United were handed a brutal ‘reminder’ by TNT Sports after Paris Saint-Germain progressed to the semi-final of the Champions League with a 4-1 win over Barcelona.

The result left Magpies fans thinking what could have been had a controversial stoppage-time penalty decision at PSG back in November went the other way. Newcastle were leading 1-0 at PSG when Tino Livramento was penalised for handball following a VAR check.

Kylian Mbappe stepped up and scored a 98th-minute equaliser to keep PSG on course to progress out of the group. The decision was later deemed incorrect as it went against UEFA guidance issued earlier in 2023.

But it was little consolation for Newcastle who ended up finishing bottom of the group while PSG progressed to the last-16. Had Newcastle secured a 1-0 win at Parc des Princes, they would have moved into the top two of the group having previously beaten PSG 4-1 at St James’ Park.

Had that been the case, Newcastle or AC Milan likely would have progressed in place on the Ligue 1 side. A fact TNT Sport were quick to remind everyone of after PSG secured a place in the semi-final.

The broadcaster’s official X account posted pictures of Livramento’s handball along with the caption: “A reminder that if it wasn’t for this being given as a penalty, Newcastle would have done the double over PSG in the Champions League group stages and likely would have progressed instead of the French side.”

PSG ultimately finished second in the group while Newcastle finished bottom and exited Europe. Group winners Borussia Dortmund have also progressed to the semi-final following a thrilling 4-2 win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.

The final two semi-final places will be decided on Wednesday evening as Arsenal face Bayern Munich and holders Manchester City play Real Madrid with the scores level from the first leg matches.

Newcastle will be hoping for a quick return to Europe as they currently sit sixth in the Premier League table with six games remaining. They are currently 13 points off the top four and 10 off fifth place, which could be enough to secure Champions League qualification depending on UEFA’s coefficient calculations.