Man City vs Newcastle United ref watch: Three decisions Thomas Bramall got wrong
Howard Webb trusted Thomas Bramall with the whistle as Man City faced off against Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium.
The referee had daggers being aimed at him from both sets of supporters, with major battles all across the pitch during Man City‘s vital 2-1 win against the Magpies on Saturday, 21 February.
With Arsenal taking on Tottenham in the North London derby on Sunday, 22 February, the Citizens were desperate for all three points, and a Nico O’Reilly brace delivered that on a plate.
Although it was an important moment in the Premier League title race, both sides were left frustrated by some of the decisions made by Bramall in the centre of the pitch.
Omar Marmoush avoids early caution vs Newcastle
After just 20 minutes, Omar Marmoush could have already seen his name taken by the referee, pulling one of Newcastle’s midfielders back by the shirt on a counter-attack.
There is no doubt that Bramall saw the incident, giving an advantage in the Magpies’ favour, but he didn’t go back to punish the offending forward after the ball had gone out of play.
Thomas Bramall gets Bernardo Silva incident all wrong
Bernardo Silva talked his way into the book just four minutes into the second half, but how the Man City captain got to the position was completely the fault of the referee.
The No.20 had clearly won his tackle, which Bramall had blown up for a free-kick because of, and Bernardo was not going to walk away without making his case.
Replays showed a clear touch on the ball from the Portuguese star, and had the referee spotted that too, the situation would not have occurred in the middle of the pitch.
Joelinton allowed to nearly injure Antoine Semenyo
Joelinton was only on the pitch for the final 30 minutes, but in that time, he committed a foul on Antoine Semenyo that should have seen a yellow card quickly shown.
The Brazilian midfielder flew into a late challenge on the former Bournemouth star, leaving him in a heap on the floor and clutching at his knee, but the referee didn’t even stop play.
He even got away with another foul before grabbing Rodri by the neck and throwing him to the floor, finally forcing Bramall to caution him.