A lot of Newcastle fans have been left in shock as it turns out Rafa Benitez has been charged by the FA for his comments about Andre Marriner ahead of The Magpies trip to Selhurst Park. Crystal Palace star man, Wilfried Zaha had previously claimed he needs more protection from referees and ahead of the game Benitez claimed he had a lot of confidence in Marriner ahead of the game.
Rafael Benítez has been charged following pre-match comments he made on Friday [21/09/18] about the appointed match referee for Newcastle United’s game against Crystal Palace on Saturday [22/09/18]. He has until 6pm on 28 September 2018 to respond to the charge. pic.twitter.com/yoZnBFOL6Y
— FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) September 25, 2018
Benitez will probably be as much in disbelief as the fans are after being charged for his comments. It’s understandable when the likes of Jose Mourinho and other more vocal gaffers get hit with fines and touchline bans for comments about referees as they are usually being derogatory about the match officials. However, Benitez has done nothing of the sort and the fans are right to be getting annoyed as their gaffer faces action from the FA.
As it turned out, the Selhurst Park clash was an uneventful one. The Geordies played out a 0-0 draw and secured their second point of the season. Wilfried Zaha played the full 90 minutes and had a quiet game by his standards and Marriner had nothing of note to deal with as the game petered out into a goalless draw that was always destined to be last on the Match of the Day running order. However, the fans will be expecting Benitez to respond to the charge and will hope it can be overturned.
You can read the frustrated Magpies’ verdict on Benitez’s charge here:
https://twitter.com/Sirbobbyliveson/status/1044627238950440963
Is this a joke?
— Liam (@ldabbs89) September 25, 2018
Why do they hate Newcastle Utd so much? Why has Zaha not been punished by the London FA for his comments yet Rafa has even though he praised the ref? Oh wait o forgot he plays for a London club though
— Ghosted G (@g_ghosted) September 25, 2018
How ridiculous are you lot.
— wd67 (@WayneDalton1967) September 25, 2018
Is this a wind up?
— M (@Sandancer87) September 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/ThaiToonArmy/status/1044736751678349312
Charged for praising the ref?
— Greyshrike (@greyshrike2) September 25, 2018
The Newcastle fans are livid with the decision to charge Rafa and will hope it gets overturned if the Spaniard decides to appeal.
