Exclusive: Pawson slammed for Pope penalty mess in Newcastle v Crystal Palace
Keith Hackett has slammed Craig Pawson and Darren England after Nick Pope gave away a penalty for Newcastle against Crystal Palace.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that he could not understand why it took so long to determine that Pope’s challenge was “careless”.
Newcastle began the match looking to use their game in hand to consolidate their position in the Champions League qualification spots.
Following a slow start, in-form Jacob Murphy scored his eighth goal of the season in the 14th minute, thanks to an assist from Kieran Trippier.
Palace were then given the opportunity to reply, but Arsenal target Eberechi Eze missed his effort from the spot,
Sensing an opportunity, Newcastle then ran riot, scoring three more goals unanswered, with the first being an own-goal from Liverpool target Marc Guehi, going into half-time leading 4-0.
Newcastle’s Nick Pope gives away penalty to Crystal Palace
With the Magpies up 1-0 and fairly untroubled by the Eagles, Pope made an absolute hash of clearing a cross.
The England international came out to claim a ball from deep, before missing his punch and careening straight into Chris Richards.
With the USA international sent tumbling, the decision seemed like a mere formality.
However, with Pawson on VAR and England the on-field referee, the pair seemed uncertain of what to do next.
After spending over three minutes deliberating, a penalty kick was finally awarded, before the whole affair came to a messy end with Eze making a hash of his effort, allowing Pope to save easily.
Keith Hackett analyses Crystal Palace penalty decision
Having analysed the footage, ex-PGMOL chief Hackett told Football Insider exclusively he could not understand why it took so long to award the penalty, saying:
“I cannot understand why it took VAR Craig Pawson so long to determine that Newcastle’s Nick Pope had made a careless challenge in coming out and attempting to punch the ball and catching his opponent.
“After making his judgment, he requested referee Darren England to go to the monitor.
| 2024/25 Premier League stats | Pope |
| Appearances | 21 |
| Goals conceded | 28 |
| Clean sheets | 5 |
| Save percentage | 71.1% |
| Errors leading to goal | 2 |
“England then increased the delay by taking several re-runs of the incident before determining Popes actions were a foul and therefore a penalty kick.
“After a review, he pointed to the penalty mark, having judged that Pope had not made contact with the ball.
“The Palace player [Eze] made a complete hash of the kick and it was an easy save by Pope.”