Newcastle United were let down by a VAR operator "sleeping on the job" following a foul on Danny Rose in the stalemate at Brighton.
That's the view of former referee Keith Hackett, who believes Pascal Gross should have been shown a straight for the ugly clash in the first half.
Referee Simon Hooper awarded a foul for the apparent elbow in the 26th minute on Monday night, and VAR reviewed the incident to determine if the Brighton attacker was guilty of serious foul play.
Footage showed Gross glance at Rose before catching the on-loan full back in the face.
However, Gross was booked after neither Hooper or the VAR decided the incident was worthy of dismissal.
Hackett believes the hosts should have been down to 10 men, claiming it was a "deliberate act" from Gross to target Rose.
He told Football Insider : “He’s looked around to see where the other player is and done him
“It’s a deliberate act using the elbow as a weapon and he should have been sent off.
“I was surprised the VAR wasn’t used, in fact I’m disappointed because the referee has been let down badly.
“I don’t know if the VAR was sleeping on the job but these sort of things can’t happen. The player stayed on when in fact he should have gone.
“Every game is important, for this referee in particular it is vital that he establishes himself, performs and holds on to his job."
