Newcastle United should have been awarded a penalty in their latest Premier League game on Sunday.
This has been suggested by former top-flight official Dermot Gallagher, who has been speaking on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch to analyse the weekend’s contentious refereeing decisions.
Eddie Howe’s men snatched a point late on in the game at Molineux thanks to Allan Saint-Maximin’s stunning volley, however, they may feel they should have left with all three.
Wolves midfielder Matheus Nunes was seen pulling the shirt and the arm of Sean Longstaff inside the hosts’ penalty area, but it was not deemed enough to award a Newcastle spot kick.
As Howe’s side were forced to steal a point late on in the game, Gallagher believes the story could have been much different for the Magpies with the game still tied at 0-0 at the time.
He said (via Newcastle World): “All I can think is that they believe he hasn’t impacted on the forward but for me, it’s a penalty.
“You watch how long he got his shirt for… it has to be a penalty.”
TIF Thoughts on Gallagher’s comments…
We have to agree with Gallagher on this occasion. The new Wolves midfielder, we feel, should count himself incredibly lucky not to have provided the Toon with an opportunity from the spot in the first half.
Should this have been a penalty?
Yes
No
The only reason we can imagine a penalty was not awarded is that the Newcastle midfielder was not pulled to the ground, therefore, bringing into question how strong Nunes’ pull was.
However, we do not think that should be the deciding factor for whether this should have been awarded, with the Portuguese midfielder clearly affecting Longstaff’s opportunity inside the box.