The latest Newcastle United news as the Magpies’ equalising goal has been a topic of controversy among football fans with replays inconclusive.
Rob Green, a Match of the Day pundit and former Premier League goalkeeper, has challenged the decision to award Newcastle United’s equalising goal against Birmingham City.
The Magpies were losing 1-0 against St Andrew’s in the FA Cup fourth round when Ethan Laird scored in the first minute. Joe Willock equalised for Newcastle 20 minutes later, but the decision to award the goal has sparked discussion.
Willock’s attempt was blocked by Blues goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell, but the assistant referee determined that the ball had crossed the line. With no goal line technology in League One stadiums, the decision was final.
Replays don’t give a clear indication if the call was right or not. Because of this, Green believes the goal should not have been awarded, with the pundit suggesting that the official guessed.
“Great save, and you can’t say it was a goal,” he stated on Match of the Day on Saturday. “We observed Bailey Peacock-Farrell’s reaction to it; he was excited. He knew he had rescued it, but you don’t.
“As a referee’s assistant, you cannot claim this is a goal. You are unsure. Everyone has seen this multiple times; you can’t tell for definite that it’s a goal. You need to be certain. The assistant referee can’t have been certain.”
Only a few minutes later, Eddie Howe’s team seized the lead through Callum Wilson. They were, however, pegged back before halftime thanks to Tomoki Iwata’s superb strike.
With eight minutes remaining, Willock scored the winning goal, advancing his team to the fifth round. Newcastle will learn their opponents when the draw takes place on Monday evening.
