Tammy Abraham scores against Newcastle United.placeholder image
Tammy Abraham scores against Newcastle United. | Getty Images
Aston Villa v Newcastle United: Tammy Abraham gave Aston Villa the lead in the FA Cup fourth round at Villa Park.
Newcastle United could feel hard done by as they went behind at Aston Villa due to an early Tammy Abraham goal.
It was Abraham’s first goal since re-joining Villa as he appeared to break the offside trap to bring down Douglas Luiz’s free-kick and turn the ball past Aaron Ramsdale in the Newcastle goal.
But replays showed that Abraham was indeed in an offside position when the free-kick was taken but the linesman’s flag stayed down.
In the Premier League, VAR would have intervened and the goal would have been ruled out. But with VAR not in place in the FA Cup until the fifth round, it wasn’t there to save Newcastle as Villa celebrated opening the scoring.
The Gazette has launched a new WhatsApp NUFC channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone.Simply click this linkto join our NUFC WhatsApp channel.
FA Cup rule change haunts Newcastle United
Newcastle have been on the receiving end of some rule changes in the domestic cup competitions this season with Antoine Semenyo playing a key role in Manchester City’s Carabao Cup semi-final victory despite playing for AFC Bournemouth in an earlier round.
The rules were changed this season to allow players to represent two clubs in domestic competitions, provided they were signed before the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final in January.
In terms of VAR, FA Cup matches at Premier League grounds would have previously seen VAR put in place even prior to the fifth round.
But that rule was changed last season so that no VAR would be in place until the fifth round to ensure a consistent refereeing experience for all participating clubs. In Newcastle’s case, it was an incorrect refereeing experience, as the TNT Sports footage revealed.
TNT Sports release damning footage of Aston Villa goal
Shortly after Villa’s opener, TNT Sports’ official X account posted a clip of the goal showing Abraham clearly in an offside position.
It was accompanied by the caption: “Tammy Abraham scores his first goal since returning to Aston Villa, which puts them ahead against Newcastle! Douglas Luiz also gets his first assist since returning to the club.”
The post was unsurprisingly met with many replies stating that the goal was offside and should not have stood.
Continue Reading