Craig Pawson was correct to rule out Cristiano Ronaldo's 'cheeky' goal as Newcastle United held Manchester United to a draw, according to Chris Sutton. Eddie Howe's side continued their impressive start to the season by earning a point at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors made a strong start, and Joelinton was twice denied by the woodwork with successive headers. The Magpies also had a penalty shout waved away when Raphael Varane brought down Callum Wilson in the box.
The Red Devils improved after the restart, and spurned late chances to open the scoring through Fred and Marcus Rashford. Ronaldo had a strike ruled out for offside, before then attempting to capitalise on the free-kick which he considered 'live'.
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Fabian Schar tapped the ball back for Nick Pope to take the kick, and Ronaldo slowly approached before taking the dead ball and slotting it into the net. Pawson judged the ball to not yet be in play and the legendary striker was booked, despite fierce protestations from the hosts.
Pundit Chris Sutton compared the incident to a Liverpool goal scored at Anfield against Sunderland in 2010, where Dirk Kuyt's strike was allowed to stand. However, former striker Sutton believes Pawson made the 'right' decision to chalk off Ronaldo's second 'goal'.
He told MailOnline: "He believed Fabian Schar tapping the ball back to Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope meant it was ‘live’. Referee Craig Pawson disagreed and so do I.
"It was a cheeky attempt at scoring by Ronaldo, as desperate as he is to add to his 700 club goals, but Schar was clearly not taking the free-kick. United can complain, and they certainly did, but it was right that the potential opener was ruled out."
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