Ex-PGMOL chief stunned by Newcastle star’s ‘red-card challenge’ as Tottenham footage re-analysed
Newcastle United should have gone down to 10 men against Tottenham as Eddie Howe pulled off a victory in the Carabao Cup fourth round.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that Chris Kavanagh missed a “clear” red card during the Magpies’ 2-0 win on Wednesday, 29 October.
Alan Shearer had raised concerns over Nick Woltemade’s arrival in the summer, but he was vital as Newcastle reached the quarter-finals, doubling his team’s lead after Fabian Schar‘s opening.
Battling away as the reigning champions after Newcastle beat Liverpool at Wembley Stadium last season, Howe has a real chance of another piece of silverware, but the game was not without its controversies.
Joelinton avoids a blatant sending off vs Tottenham
Having come on as a second-half substitute, Joelinton picked up a yellow card in the 86th minute, starting a brawl between both sets of players after scything down Mohammed Kudus in the middle of the park.
Joelinton has battled with injuries at Newcastle this season, so it was expected that the Brazilian would be mostly rested for the Carabao Cup. Yet, he could have caused a lot of damage to his opponent instead.
Kavanagh also sanctioned Kudus for his reaction to the challenge, but his fury at the bad tackle was completely warranted based on just how high the Newcastle player connected.
Watching the footage back, Hackett could explain why Joelinton had avoided a red card for his challenge, suggesting that it showed “excessive force” and put his opponent in danger.
Keith Hackett should have shown the red card to Newcastle star
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former referee said: “When I witnessed this challenge, my immediate thought was that it’s a clear red-card challenge. The challenge clearly had excessive force and endangered the safety of his opponent.
“That should be sanctioned with a red card,” but due to Kavanagh spotting the incident and dealing with it at the time with a yellow card, there cannot be retrospective action.
However, he was only shown a yellow card, which means he will be readily available for the Magpies’ quarter-final clash with Fulham when the two sides meet on Tuesday, 16 December.