Newcastle hero Alan Shearer fuming after VAR snubs seemingly blatant penalty vs Man City
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Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has vented his frustration at a seemingly blatant penalty decision which went against the Magpies on Sunday afternoon. Ryan Fraser was taken out by Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson, but an explanation has been offered after Martin Atkinson waved play on and VAR decided that no action was necessary.
Newcastle endured a largely dismal first half despite some bright moments – but felt they should have been given a penalty.
Ruben Dias opened the scoring for City inside the first five minutes, capitalising on a shocking mix-up between Martin Dubravka and Ciaran Clark.
Then flying full-back Joao Cancelo, who looped in the cross for City’s opener, doubled the advantage with a stunning finish after breezing past two Magpies defenders.
Towards the end of the half, Ederson came out to claim the ball on the edge of his box, and as he slid in, Cancelo took the ball away which paved the way for clear contact between the goalkeeper and Fraser.
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Despite loud screams from within St James’ Park, Atkinson waved play on, and VAR were speedy in dismissing the case.
Shearer promptly took to social media to share his feelings, pleading: “Any danger VAR or ref(?) Pen all day.”
Claims made since suggest that the decision was not given because, at the point the contact was made, Cancelo was away and clear with the ball.
In essence, if Ederson had not cleaned out Fraser, the Scot would still not have come away with the ball, but that explanation was understandably not enough to reassure angered Newcastle fans.
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The Toon have felt hard done by of late, with a number of key decisions seemingly going against them.
A controversial penalty call was given in favour of James Maddison against Leicester City last weekend, and officials failed to halt play after a head injury which allowed Diogo Jota to head home for Liverpool four days later.
As we get deeper into the season, the Magpies are still fighting hard towards the bottom of the division, with the threat of relegation growing every week.
One win from 18 matches has left them in trouble at this point in the campaign, and new boss Eddie Howe has failed to dramatically change the side’s fortunes.
A first win of the season against Burnley earlier this month was a crucial boost for new owners Amanda Staveley and co., but their meagre points total makes the January transfer window more important than ever.
FFP regulations are set to permit them around £200million to spend over the next three years, and although the owners would surely like to spread that out over the long term, the threat of relegation could make a transfer blowout all too tempting over the next few weeks.
City eventually ran out 4-0 winners with Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling adding to the scoreline for City.
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