Newcastle United players and supporters were infuriated with referee Andrew Madley after he made a disputed decision in the dying moments of their match against Liverpool.
On Wednesday evening, Premier League leaders Liverpool visited St. James’ Park aiming to extend their strong run under new manager Arne Slot.
Newcastle took the lead after 35 minutes through Alexander Isak, but Curtis Jones leveled the score in the 50th minute.
Anthony Gordon then put the Magpies back in front, only for Mohamed Salah to score twice in the 68th and 83rd minutes, making it 3-2. However, Slot’s side couldn’t hold on as a mistake by Reds goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher allowed Fabian Schar to equalize, ending the match 3-3.
In added time, Newcastle launched a counterattack, but referee Madley blew the final whistle, leaving players and fans furious.
The allotted stoppage time was five minutes, and when Isak crossed the halfway line, the clock read 95:10.
After the whistle, players like Schar, Nick Pope, and Bruno Guimaraes were seen expressing their frustration at the referee.
As a result, goalkeeper Pope was issued a yellow card for his protests. Following the match, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe expressed his surprise at Madley’s early final whistle.
He said, “I was surprised by the final whistle because we spent about two minutes on a free-kick in added time, so I expected seven minutes to be played.”
“I think it was 5:15 when he blew the whistle, so it was disappointing because it looked like we were in a good position.”
Howe also felt his team should have been awarded a penalty after Isak was brought down by Jarell Quansah and thought Reds captain Virgil van Dijk might have been fortunate to avoid a red card for a heavy shoulder challenge on Gordon.
He added, “I thought it was a penalty on Alex, but I haven’t seen a replay; that was just my initial impression.
“Then, I believe VAR reviewed the van Dijk-Gordon incident and decided no action was needed, so we have to accept it. I was initially surprised, though.”
Newcastle will return to Premier League action this weekend when they face Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
