Newcastle fans fume at ‘unbelievable’ announcement for Carabao Cup clash vs Man City: ‘How is this allowed?’
Chris Kavanagh will take charge of the first leg of Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Tuesday.
Newcastle beat Fulham 2-1 at St James’ Park for a chance to make a consecutive League Cup final, which would be played against Arsenal or Chelsea.
The Magpies have been in strong form of late, but many fans felt their confidence hit when the match official for Tuesday’s game was announced.
Kavanagh was criticised for blowing his whistle early in Bournemouth’s loss to Arsenal two weeks ago, and that is not the only controversy he has been involved in this season.
The referee was in charge as Man City beat Liverpool 3-0 in November – a game in which he gave the Citizens several favourable decisions.
Newcastle United fans in disbelief at Chris Kavanagh news
Newcastle will be confident ahead of the visit of Man City. Eddie Howe‘s side have had some success against Pep Guardiola‘s at St James’ Park in recent years.
In November, the Magpies beat them there when Harvey Barnes scored a spectacular double to sink the Citizens.
But the problem lies away from home, where Newcastle have failed to beat Man City since, in fact, a League Cup fixture in 2014.
| Man City vs Newcastle – last five away |
| Man City 4-0 Newcastle |
| Man City 2-0 Newcastle |
| Man City 1-0 Newcastle |
| Man City 2-0 Newcastle |
| Man City 5-0 Newcastle |
With that in mind, Howe’s team will hope to take full advantage of the home advantage to build an attractive lead going into the second leg.
But the problem for many Newcastle fans is that referee Kavanagh is from Manchester.
“Unbelievable,” wrote one Newcastle fan following the announcement. “Presumably he’ll be travelling up with the City team to save on costs…”
Another asked, “how is this allowed?” While more fans questioned the decision and suggested that Man City are set to receive favourable decisions.
“Howe doesn’t only have to beat the opponents he’s up against sheer unadulterated corruption,” wrote a disgruntled Newcastle fan.
Newcastle and Man City’s records when refereed by Kavanagh
Kavanagh has, in fact, refereed Newcastle games more than any other Premier League team during his career.
The 40-year-old has taken charge for 33 of the Magpies’ games, overseeing 15 wins for them and 11 losses. Interestingly, he has never given out a red card to a Newcastle player.
Kavanagh has only refereed 15 Man City games, with the Citizens winning nine of them and also having never been given a red card.
The Geordies will be pleased to hear that when Newcastle beat Man City 1-0 in the third round of the Carabao Cup in 2023, it was Kavanagh in the middle.