Former Premier League referee Graham Poll believes Raul Jimenez's actions inadvertently prevented VAR from correctly awarding Wolves a penalty in their defeat at Newcastle United. Eddie Howe's side returned to winning ways with a hard-fought 2-1 victory at St James' Park on Sunday afternoon.
However, it could have been a different outcome for the Magpies if referee Andy Madley penalised Nick Pope following a collision with Jimenez in the first half. The deadlock had not been broken when the striker pounced on a miscontrol from the Newcastle goalkeeper, only to fall to the ground following a coming together.
Madley waved away protests from the visitors, and was backed up by a swift VAR review. However, Poll feels a penalty should have been awarded and Pope shown a red card, before explaining why matchday officials should not front up to the media following matches to discuss controversial incidents.
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He told Betting Sites: “The Pope/Jimenez clash is a fascinating one and a great example of how confused VAR thinking is. It is a foul and therefore a penalty and a red card for Pope as he is not making a genuine attempt to play the ball. However, replays in slow motion show Jimenez turning a shoulder and leaning towards Pope which could be seen as ‘clouding the issue’ and meaning the on field decision isn’t a ‘clear and obvious error’ which can then be overturned.
“Referees giving interviews after the game won’t help these situations as there is little appetite to give the referee the opportunity to talk through good and bad decisions. If they are only asked when a perceived error has been made, the interviews turn into more of a witch hunt; this happened back in the late 90’s when I gave post match feedback and at that point interviews were terminated.”
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