Kieran Trippier deserves extended ban as Newcastle United controversy analysed - pundit
Gabriel Agbonlahor has suggested Newcastle United defender Kieran Trippier should have been sent off for his challenge on Kevin De Bruyne on Sunday (21 August).
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Aston Villa striker is adamant there was a "similar foul last season" in which a player was shown a straight red.
In the second half on Saturday's 3-3 draw, Trippier was shown a straight red card for a challenge on De Bruyne.
VAR official Peter Bankes instructed referee Jarred Gillett to review his decision on the pitch-side monitor.
The referee overturned his on-field decision and the sending off was downgraded to a booking.
When asked by Football Insider for his assessment of the incident, Agbonlahor said: "I feel that, because of how high it was, you could easily say it was a red card.
"I don’t think it was dangerous but at the end of the day the contact is high on Kevin De Bruyne’s leg so really, by the rules, it’s high contact so it maybe should be a red card.
"I think these things change in different games, someone will do that next week and it will be a red card.
"It depends on the force of the tackle from Trippier. He’s fouled De Bruyne, quite high to make sure he went over. But, there’s no consistency.
"I think there was a similar foul last season where someone got a red card for it.
"I think that sort of tackle, it wasn’t meant to hurt De Bruyne, it was meant to stop him."