Pundits were “staggered” as Newcastle were denied a “stonewall penalty” against Chelsea after Anthony Gordon went down in the box under the challenge of Trevoh Chalobah.
Newcastle forward Gordon was played into the Chelsea penalty area and looked to try and shield the ball from the oncoming defender Chalobah close to the byline.
But Gordon was knocked over by Chalobah when the centre-back crashed into him, in contact deemed by VAR to be a “side-to-side in a shielding action”.
The incident was seen by on-field referee Andy Madley and checked by VAR Peter Bankes, who quickly agreed with the initial decision and waved played on.
But the decision proved to be a major turning point in a frantic Premier League fixture. Newcastle were 2-1 up when Gordon went down in the box, but it soon became 2-2 as Joao Pedro raced clear to score Chelsea’s equaliser at St James’ Park.
Newcastle led 2-0 at half-time thanks to two goals from Nick Woltemade. But Chelsea responded in the second half and got back into the game through a Reece James free-kick, before the penalty incident involving Gordon and Chalobah.
Reacting to the decision on TNT Sports, Ally McCoist said: “I think it's a penalty, I really do. I think he's trying to usher him out but he takes him out. It's a penalty, as simple as that. It's a stonewall penalty. I'm staggered at that.”
Two former Chelsea players also agreed. Joe Cole added on TNT Sports: “Too much aggression [from Chalobah], I think we’ll be hearing from Eddie Howe after the game.” On BBC Radio 5 Live, Pat Nevin said: “Risky with bells on it! Trevoh Chalobah never got the ball, a shoulder challenge on Anthony Gordon. A big call for the referee to not give a penalty.”
The Premier League Match Centre explained: “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.“
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe was bemused by the Premier League’s explanation. “In my opinion it’s a clear penalty. I think anywhere else on the pitch it’s a free-kick. The player has gone into Anthony too aggressively so I think it’s stonewall.
“It’s not [side-to-side shielding]. The defender only looks at Anthony and not the ball and is too aggressive.”
