Both the referee and VAR may well have made a huge mistake in the most recent Newcastle United win by not sending off Everton star James Tarkowski for a late challenge, which was aired live on Amazon Prime video.
Eddie Howe’s men claimed an important win in the Premier League earlier this week, with Miguel Almiron’s superb goal being enough to pick up all three points in a 1-0 win.
Visiting opposition Everton would have no doubt been frustrated by the outcome of the game and with time running out on the clock Tarkowski seemed to display this with a bad tackle on Ryan Fraser.
Indeed, he came in late with his studs crunching down on the Newcastle winger but the defender was only dealt a yellow card and nothing more severe.
Do you think the foul on Ryan Fraser was worthy of a red card?
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TIF thoughts on the challenge and Newcastle…
It really does seem as though the officials may have made the wrong call to not send off Tarkowski for this late tackle. After all, on the live commentary for Sky Sports’ match coverage, pundit Lee Hendrie said he thought it was going to be a red card and slammed it for being a ‘horrible’ challenge.
Indeed, the tackle had shades of Emerson Royal about it in the way Tarkowski leaves the ground with his forward leg at force. The contact perhaps wasn’t as high as Royal’s challenge but there’s clear force and intent, mixed with the fact his leg and foot have left the ground and the ball has gone.
As it came so late on in the game, Newcastle only had to hold on for all three points for a little while longer and managed to do just that. However, had Everton found a last-gasp equaliser that certainly would have been a hugely controversial moment to reflect upon.
In the end, though, while Everton got away with it, it didn’t change the outcome of the game either. And so, the Magpies now sit in sixth place, on 18 points after 11 games.