Former top referee Keith Hackett talked about this controversial moment during the game on Saturday afternoon in St James’ Park.
The side of Eddie Howe eventually won 1-0 against Wolves.
A first victory of the season for Newcastle United.
However, when it ends such a narrow winning margin, you can look back on important incidents that have influenced the competition. Especially those who could possibly have denied all three points.
Like this incident for example …
It actually didn’t happen that long before the glorious moment when Nick Wolade scored the winning goal during his debut.
Shortly before that winner of the head, we saw Burns play an absolute beauty of a diagonal ball over the top of the Wolves defense for Harvey Barnes to run on.
This saw the Newcastle wing player and the Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera as the two players compete for the ball just outside the penalty area.
Mosquera was cheated by the bouncing of the ball and it went behind him, Harvey Barnes had rated that so well and ran on the ball because it fell perfectly for him to run on the edge of the box. The keeper has stayed on his line and Barnes with a glorious opportunity to open the score.
Only, Harvey Barnes never got that chance.
The Wolves defender has realized that he rated the bounce incorrectly, instead went for the man. Mosquera took Barnes with an elbow to the head, no attempt to play the ball.
Looking from my chair not far away, I thought this was a classic case of the referee Chris Kavanagh who bottles an absolute easy decision, because he knows that the VAR is nowadays to save him from embarrassing mistakes. Play stopped shortly thereafter and Kavanagh delayed the restart because of the VAR control, only for literally within ten seconds and restarting. Everyone around me just couldn’t believe it, the most obvious cynical mistakes and a red card as the last man. Not much outside the box, but of course no penalty and wolves should have been up to ten men.
Watching TV hers later just confirmed this what I had seen at the time, it was bad enough that Kavanagh did not give it, but how could the VAR believe that nothing was wrong with this, the defect.
So what makes the former top referee Keith Hackett at the time?
Keith Hackett, the ex-FIFA referee and former PGMOL who gave this perfect analysis about what we all saw, via his Twitter/X account:
“This is a clear red card.
“Clear error and fulfilled Dogso (‘refusing an obvious target score’) so Red Card.
“Easy decision a clear red card attack. PGMOL tries out a new Var Timothy wood.
“No Premier League experience.
“Just get people who can do the work.”
This Timothy wood is his first time as a VAR in the Premier League, I clearly think that he was bottled and not wanted to be seen to interrogate an experienced (and useless !!!) referee such as Chris Kavanagh.
Fortunately it didn’t matter in the end, but I can’t believe how the media completely ignored this incident. If it was Liverpool or Arsenal, we would never hear the last of it. Eddie Howe is one of the few good guys who never looked forward to apologizing, very reluctant, even when terrible decisions such as these go to NUFC.
For example, on the competition of the day, they did not even talk about the horrible decision not to send the Wolves defender.
Newcastle 1 Wolves 0 – Saturday, September 13, 2025 3 p.m.
(Statistics via BBC Sport))
Goals:
Newcastle United:
Woltemade 29
Wolves:
Possess Was Newcastle 57% Wolves 43%
Total number of shots were Newcastle 16 wolves 8
Shots on goal were Newcastle 4 Wolves 3
Corner were Newcastle 10 wolves 4
Touches in the box Newcastle 29 Wolves 23
Newcastle Team V Wolves:
Pope, Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento, Tonali, Bruno, Joelinton (Willock 65), Barnes (Elanga 80), Woltemade (Osula 65), Murphy (Botman 95)
Subs:
Ramsdale, Hall, Thiaw, Krafth, Miley
(Match Report – Until someone reminds me of it, it was the first of the 200 goals of Nick Woltemade for Newcastle United … read here)
(Newcastle 1 Wolves 0 – Match – Reviews and comments about all Newcastle United players – Read here)
(Newcastle 1 Wolves 0 – Instant Newcastle United Fan/Writer Response – Read here)
Newcastle United Apparatures confirmed dates and times (all Champions League matches will also be available to watch TV in the UK):
Thursday, September 18: Newcastle United vs FC Barcelona (8 p.m.)
Sunday, September 21 – Bournemouth V Newcastle (2 p.m.) Sky Sports
Wednesday 24 September – Newcastle V Bradford (7.45 pm) Sky Sports+
Sunday 28 September– Newcastle against Arsenal (4.30 pm) Sky Sports
Wednesday 1 October: Union SG vs Newcastle United (5:45 pm)
Sunday 5 October– Newcastle V Forest (2 p.m.) Sky Sports
Saturday, October 18 – Brighton V Newcastle (3 p.m.)
Tuesday, October 21: Newcastle United vs Benfica (8 p.m.)
Saturday, October 25 – Newcastle in Fulham (3 p.m.)
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