Sky Sports duo blast Andy Madley's decision not to award Newcastle United a second-half penalty against Chelsea
Andy Madley's decision to wave away Newcastle United's penalty protests in the second half of the 2-2 draw with Chelsea on Saturday has not gone down well.
Newcastle were still 2-1 up at that point, and that penalty would have drastically affected the outcome of the game, but as it wasn't given, Chelsea were able to score again, and the game ended in a draw.
There is obviously nothing to say that Newcastle would have converted the penalty, but there's no denying that it changed the outcome of the game.
As Anthony Gordon was clattered by Trevoh Chalobah, Andy Madley waved away the protests while VAR somehow backed his decision.
Dermot Gallagher says the referee got this one very wrong
On Monday's Ref Watch segment on Sky Sports, former referee Dermot Gallagher and ex-player Jay Bothroyd both said that it should have been a penalty for the Magpies.
Gallagher claims there was no attempt to play the ball by Chalobah.
“I think it’s a penalty. If you look at it [Chalobah] is aggressive, he’s nowhere near the ball, he looks at the man rather than the ball. I think it’s a penalty.”
Jay Bothroyd was not happy with the officials' explanation
Meanwhile, Bothroyd took aim at the Premier League Match Centre's tweet. The account posts the explanations for controversial VAR decisions so fans are aware of how the officials came to their conclusion.
However, Bothroyd, much like Alan Shearer and 99% of the football-loving world, strongly disagreed with their explanation.
“They said that he was shielding the ball out. Shielding the ball out is not like that.
“This is one thing that really annoys me when it comes to defenders, shielding the ball is when the ball is here [between defender and byline] and you’re not letting the attacker come around you, that’s what it is.
“To describe that scenario as shielding the ball, it’s more of a body check because no one is in control of the ball, if anything Anthony Gordon is running in the line of the ball. Trevoh Chalobah has just come across and body checked him out of the way.
“That should be a penalty all day, anywhere else on the pitch it’s a free-kick. The terminology the people in the VAR room are using doesn’t back up what they’re saying.
“They’re digging a hole from themselves because that is not shielding the ball at all and it should have been given as a penalty.”
