Kelly Cates was quick to call out Alan Shearer as the BBC Sport panel dissected the first-half of Aston Villa's FA Cup clash with Newcastle United on Saturday
Alan Shearer was not pleased with the refereeing decisions in Newcastle's FA Cup match
Alan Shearer was not pleased with the refereeing decisions in Newcastle's FA Cup match
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Kelly Cates jokingly told Alan Shearer "don't have a go at me," after the Newcastle United icon made his feelings clear on some of the referee's decisions during the FA Cup clash with Aston Villa.
With his former side trailing at the interval following a Tammy Abraham strike that would probably have been disallowed had VAR been operational at Villa Park, a panel comprising Shearer, Cates, Wayne Rooney and Dion Dublin examined a reckless challenge from Lucas Digne that might also have warranted a red card upon review.
The Villa defender made no contact with the ball whatsoever, instead colliding entirely with Jacob Murphy as he lunged into the tackle at speed, his lead foot elevated dangerously. While the French international received a yellow card from referee Chris Kavanagh for the infringement, Shearer felt he was extremely fortunate to avoid dismissal.
He said: "I think it's a red card. He's endangering his opponent, there's no doubt about that. He's high, he's late and it's a very, very dangerous tackle.
"I think he's lucky to get away with it. He's about what four yards from the assistant referee on that right-hand side and the referee deems it a yellow card but it's very high and I think he's lucky. He catches him high. it's dangerous."
Following Dublin and Rooney's agreement with Shearer's view, the ex-Newcastle forward was questioned by Cates whether match officials had at last discovered a fixture that might convert him into a VAR supporter.
His response was swift: "No, I would just like to have the officials do their job properly, that's all. That's not too much to ask, is it?" However, Cates had an immediate reply, saying: "Don't have a go at me. I was just asking the question," leaving the studio in stitches.
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Although Newcastle ran out clear winners, thanks to a Sandro Tonali brace and strike from Nick Woltemade, Eddie Howe's men were on the end of a number of controversial decisions.
Aston Villa's first goal was seemingly the first blunder, which was heavily criticised by Danny Murphy on commentary. Abraham put Unai Emery's team ahead 14 minutes into the match after a smart free-kick routine, despite appearing to be a yard offside.
Yet, as VAR was not in use at this stage of the FA Cup, the goal was permitted to stand, prompting Murphy to quickly share his opinion. He said: "So creative, you just think [Morgan] Rogers is going to step up, but he's trying to deceive them.
Kelly Cates looks on
Kelly Cates jokingly told Alan Shearer "don't have a go at me"(Image: NurPhoto, NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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"I think he's going to be offside. Should have been offside. No VAR, sorry, good point. We'll get back to that in a minute but what a pass from Douglas Luiz.
"It's a great run and it's a great training-ground free-kick they've obviously worked on. It was such a clever, little pass. Looking on the replay, he looks a yard off for me. They'll feel hard done by Newcastle when they see it back, I think."
Murphy also insisted that Digne should've been sent off before slamming the decision not to award Newcastle a penalty in the second half after the ball clearly struck the Frenchman's hand inside the box.
Much to the fury of the Magpies, Kavanagh only awarded a free-kick. Newcastle, however, immediately got justice with Tonali scoring from the resulting free-kick to equalise in the 63rd minute. The Italian then scored a thunderbolt to put Newcastle in front before Woltemade's 11th goal of the season sealed the win.
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