The Magpies came from behind at Villa Park on Saturday night to put their names in the hat for the fifth round draw, but their fate could have been very different.
Tammy Abraham gave the hosts an early lead but replays showed him clearly offside. The assistant did not raise the flag and there was no video assistant referee to judge the goal.
Lucas Digne was fortunate to stay on the pitch after giving Jacob Murphy a strong challenge just before half-time. His punishment was a yellow card.
However, Villa were reduced to ten men shortly after that incident, when Marco Bizot ran out of his goal and committed a professional foul on Murphy. No argument from anyone there, it was a clear red card.
Newcastle were denied a penalty as Lucas Digne appeared to commit a handball foul in the penalty area ❌
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There was more controversy in the second half when Digne handled the ball in the penalty area, but referee Chris Kavanagh inexplicably awarded a free kick.
BBC pundit Wayne Rooney called it “one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen in football… it’s an absolute shock”.
Fortunately for Newcastle, Sandro Tonali scored from the dead ball situation to level matters and start the comeback. The Italian midfielder then scored a stunning goal before Nick Woltemade got on the scoresheet on his birthday.
“There is no VAR – the penalty incident, I’m sure it was a penalty,” Kieran Trippier told BBC Match of the Day after the final whistle. “But this is football, you have to respond to disappointments and we did that. Villa posed a threat with ten men, but that third goal was crucial.”
VAR right? Newcastle win over Villa marred by refereeing errors
After watching that game you are reminded why VAR exists in the first place. Major mistakes such as Abraham’s offside and Digne’s handball were effectively wiped out of the game. Despite all the negatives that come with it, that’s a huge benefit of having video reviews.
However, you could argue that top match officials have become so conditioned by the security blanket of VAR that they are less likely to back themselves to make a decision at that moment.
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