Newcastle United's Fabian Schar applauds fans after the match
Newcastle United may feel as if they should’ve been playing against 10 men last night after a challenge on Fabian Schar went unpunished.
The Lowdown: VAR at the centre of attention once again
The Magpies showed impressive mental toughness on Friday night as they came from behind to pick up three points for the first time this season thanks to a stoppage-time Alexander Isak penalty after a freak handball incident.
However, the three points certainly didn’t come without controversy as VAR ruled out what would’ve been Elliot Anderson’s first-ever senior goal for his boyhood club for an apparent offside infringement from Sean Longstaff, which left several people confused.
It seemed as though Forest’s gameplan was to ruffle a few feathers within the Newcastle team as they committed 17 fouls and picked up five yellow cards, and it could’ve been a lot worse had VAR intervened and looked at Andre Ayew’s first-half challenge on Schar.
The Latest: Newcastle may feel aggrieved by the latest VAR decision
While many Newcastle fans will be angered by the decision that cost Anderson his special moment in front of the fans, this foul on Schar should arguably be getting more attention given how dangerous it could’ve been.
Ghana international Ayew slid in from behind with a scissoring motion that caught Schar on the ankle and got nowhere near the ball. However, it didn’t even warrant a yellow card from referee Paul Tierney, and VAR didn’t believe it was dangerous play, either.
The Verdict: Off-field controversy overshadowing victory
It seemed as though it was going to be one of those nights for Newcastle as they crashed efforts off the bar twice in the first half and saw Keylor Navas pull off stunning saves in the second period.
The fact that Tierney didn’t even believe this challenge warranted a stronger punishment perhaps sums up what many fans may think of his own performance at the City Ground last night, as this tackle could’ve ended awfully.
Schar did well to somehow get his ankle out of danger, as the Switzerland international could well have been looking at several weeks on the sidelines on another day.
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