After a week in which Newcastle United wrote to the PGMOL to seek clarity over a controversial refereeing decision, the club was denied another contentious penalty.
The Magpies’ 2-2 draw against Chelsea at St James’ Park was overshadowed by what the club felt was a failure in the application of VAR after Andy Madley waved away appeals for a penalty for Trevoh Chalobah’s push on Anthony Gordon.
VAR upheld the referee’s decision, and Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe hit out afterwards, stating he felt a ‘clear error’ was made in not awarding his side a penalty while leading 2-1 in the game.
On Tuesday, Howe confirmed that Newcastle had written to the Professional Game Match Official Limited (PGMOL) to seek clarity over the decision to not award them a penalty during their draw with Chelsea at the weekend.
VAR did check the incident but Peter Bankes, the man operating the technology at Stockley Park, ultimately opted to stay with Madley’s decision, much to the frustration of those at St James’ Park. In the immediate aftermath of that call, the Premier League Match Centre released a statement on the decision, writing on X: “The referee’s call of no penalty to Newcastle was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the contact from Chalobah on Gordon deemed to be side-to-side in a shielding action and the ball within playing distance.”
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Speaking to the media on Tuesday morning, Howe confirmed that the club had written to the PGMOL to seek clarity on that decision: “Yes, we will be seeking clarification.
“That call has already gone in, not from me personally, but from the club. We just want to know the thought process behind the decision.”
Asked if the feedback will change how his side approaches defending in the penalty box, Howe added: “That’s a dangerous thing! I wouldn’t want to train my players to deliver that kind of challenge in the box. That would give the referee a decision to make.
“One of the arts of defending is not to put yourself in that position. I still believe it was a clear penalty having reviewed it. But it wasn’t given and my time is best spent looking forward and not back.”
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Newcastle were beaten 1-0 at Manchester United on Boxing Day in a game which saw Howe’s side dominate possession but fail to find a breakthrough.
The Magpies players strongly appealed for a penalty after Fabian Schar’s shot hit off Lisandro Martinez’s hand inside the penalty area.
Anthony Taylor waved away the appeals and a brief VAR check upheld the decision. Unlike Chalobah’s push on Gordon against Chelsea, this penalty call was less controversial given the proximity between Schar’s shot at Martinez’s arm.
The ball appeared to hit the Man United defender on the arm more than once as it was outstretched from his body.
But some Sky Sports viewers took issue with former Manchester United defender Gary Neville’s explanation as to what it wasn’t a penalty on the broadcast of the match.
Neville justified the decision of no handball because Martinez was already pushing Thiaw in the back.
Supporters quickly called out Neville’s explanation on social media, with one writing: “I didn’t think they could top the Gordon thing against Chelsea but ‘it’s not a handball because he’s already pushing Thiaw in the back’ might be close.”
A push in the back could be deemed a foul and a penalty alone, and the justification that makes the ball hitting the defender’s arm acceptable due to it being in a ‘natural position’ certainly raised a few eyebrows during the game.
Assessing the call, Howe said: “I appealed like everybody else. I thought I saw an arm, but I haven’t seen it again, so I don’t know how close it was.”
