'It was adrenaline': Ben Brereton Diaz insists Fabian Schar's red card was justified

Newcastle United got their season underway with a win against Southampton at St James' Park but the game was marred by controversy after Fabian Schar was shown a straight red card for a headbutt on Ben Brereton Diaz.

Fabian Schar went head-to-head with Ben Brereton Diaz after a clash just before the half-hour mark and the Southampton striker saw his chance and took it, throwing himself to the floor like he'd been hit with a sniper's bullet.

To the letter of the law, Schar had to go, however, there were many people who believed that common sense should have prevailed, especially after VAR could have seen the overreaction.

Schar's card stood on the day and Newcastle unsuccessfully appealed the decision too.

Ben Brereton Diaz insists that it was a red card for Schar

Newcastle take on Wolves at Molineux on Sunday and Fabian Schar will be eligible to start again after serving his three-match ban.

However, just as we thought the whole thing had become ancient history, Ben Brereton Diaz has now spoken to the Southern Daily Echo about the incident and offered up a lame excuse for his actions while insisting that it was the correct decision.

"For me it was adrenaline. In the game, I felt contact and went down and that’s just how it is.

"If it’s not a red card, the VAR has got to come in and say it’s not a red card but for me I felt contact and that’s it. That’s football. I’m not really on Twitter or much like that but that comes with football. That’s part and parcel of it. People have got opinions. The only opinions I have to care about are what the team and the manager think.

"I’ve watched it back a couple of times. It’s a tough one, isn’t it? In this day and age it’s hard to really say is it a red card or is it not. But it’s not my decision. I’ve felt contact, gone down and the ref and the VAR have got to sort it out. They thought it was a red card so it’s a red card. I’m just trying to play football. At the end of the day, I’m all good. It is what it is."

BBD's card is marked for Newcastle fans now

Was it the adrenaline that kept you on the floor and made you ragdoll like a toddler throwing a tantrum when our players were trying to pick you up?

We're not buying it as easily as the referee and the Premier League did, matey.

We can't wait to see what the atmosphere will be like when Newcastle travel to Southampton in January.