Newcastle United news: Pundit baffled as ‘bizarre’ Nick Pope incident analysed – ‘what was he doing?’
Paul Robinson is baffled by the “bizarre incident” which saw Cristiano Ronaldo dispossess Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope when taking a free-kick.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Spurs and England number one said “it was quite clear” that play had not restarted.
As shown on Sky Sports (16 October), Ronaldo took the ball off Pope and finished into an empty net during the second half of Man United’s goalless draw with the Magpies.
The Portugal international believed the free-kick had been taken when Fabian Schar passed the ball back to Pope.
However, referee Craig Pawson, who had his arm in the air throughout, did not agree.
The incident was one of many controversies in the stalemate at Old Trafford.
When asked by Football Insider for his assessment of the incident between Ronaldo and Pope, Robinson said: “It was a bizarre incident.
“The game was clearly stopped and you could tell that Newcastle had not taken the free-kick. Pope made no attempt to get there ahead of Ronaldo because he clearly thought it was a free-kick.
“I do not know what Ronaldo was thinking in all honesty. It is hard to put it into words. What was he doing? It was quite clear that Newcastle had not taken the free-kick. It was a strange incident to say the least.”
Man United remain fifth in the table after the draw.
Newcastle are one point behind in sixth.
In other news, a finance guru has claimed Newcastle United are looking to exploit the ‘lucrative’ American market as new details emerge.