Former head of PGMOL says Chris Kavanagh should be suspended after blatant error in Newcastle United v Wolves game
Despite picking up the three points on Saturday, Newcastle United fans have every right to feel slightly aggrieved as referee Chris Kavanagh and his VAR team missed a blatant red card in the first half.
Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Yerson Mosquera flung a forearm across the face of Harvey Barnes, who was about to take the ball under his spell and be one-on-one with the Wolves 'keeper.
Chris Kavanagh failed to award the free-kick, which in real time is perhaps understandable, but then VAR checked the incident for denial of a goalscoring opportunity, which would have resulted in a red card for Mosquera.
Bafflingly, VAR sided with Kavanagh, and the incident went unpunished. Former referee Dermot Gallagher somehow came to the same conclusion as part of Sky Sports' Ref Watch on Monday.
Keith Hackett wants to see Chris Kavanagh suspended for missing a blatant red card
However, the former head of the PGMOL, Keith Hackett, told Football Insider that Kavanagh has been horrendous lately and that his missing that incident on Saturday should have been the last straw for Howard Webb and the PGMOL.
“I’m quite clear that what should happen is that the referee, who is suffering a loss of form, should be warned that their officiating is not up to the right standard.
“They should not receive an appointment next week. They should take some officiating advice from their coach because what let Kavanagh down is his position.
“Referees need to apply a dynamic sprint in order to get a viewing angle. Kavanagh was caught out, and didn’t have a good viewing angle.”
Our problem is with VAR rather than the referee
We obviously fall more on the Hackett side of the debate than Gallagher's, but for us, the failure was more to do with VAR than Kavanagh.
Granted, there's a case to be made that the referee should have been positioned better, but in his defence, that's what VAR is for, to see things from an angle the referee can't.
We simply cannot see how the VAR can look at that incident and not feel that it warranted a red card.
