The Magpies were cruelly denied a penalty for handball, but otherwise thoroughly dispatched Aston Villa in their FA Cup tie
Lucas Digne of Aston Villa is shown a yellow card by referee Chris Kavanagh during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Aston Villa and Newcastle United at Villa Park
Lucas Digne of Aston Villa is shown a yellow card by referee Chris Kavanagh during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Aston Villa and Newcastle United at Villa Park(Image: Getty Images)
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Newcastle United offered a glimpse of their best work by thoroughly dispatching Aston Villa in their Fourth Round FA Cup tie on Saturday, with starring roles for Sandro Tonali and Kieran Trippier - but some fans in the Chronicle Live comments section say that referee Chris Kavanagh needs to answer for a contentious penalty decision.
Villa took the lead early on thanks to Tammy Abraham, whose goal should have been chalked off for offside, but the tables were turned when goalkeeper Marco Bizot was sent off for his challenge on Jacob Murphy. Tonali would punish the 10-man Villa twice, with Nick Woltemade also getting in on the act.
Dan Burn and Trippier had to calm tempers after Kavanagh and his linesman failed to give a penalty when Lucas Digne handled the ball inside the box, opting to award a free kick instead. Together with Abraham's goal and Digne's brutal challenge on Jacob Murphy, the state of the officiating could have derailed the whole contest.
The Magpies responded in style, but some fans say that the standard of refereeing must be apologised for. Reader Anne Brown1952 says: "The ref should be at least suspended, along with the linesman for major errors. He apparently made a major error at Sunderland v Liverpool - no valid excuses - he should be ashamed of his work."
Commenter Binman61 writes: "They should never take charge of a match again at any level."
Itcouldbeworse says: "Trying to be fair - it’s not always easy to referee as players are moving across your view etc., so you don’t always get the best view and you can accept a wrong decision here and there. However, they are not called assistant referees for nothing. Right in front of Digne’s shocking tackle, and a handball clearly in the box, that’s their job, absolutely incompetent!"
Hotmog69 writes: "Terrible decisions, one of the worst performances I've seen from a referee and the linesman... surely they have to be demoted for a while, or lose a half dozen top flight games. They looked petrified to give any decision, it's like they've programmed themselves for VAR to step in and help."
Outsidechance agrees: "I can't remember seeing a more poor performance from a linesman and a referee. If that was a different profession, making those types of errors, there would be disciplinary action."
Away from the refereeing, there was praise for how Newcastle recovered for the win. Lilbizzlerr says: "Love that even without Bruno, who is a massive miss, the midfield finally starting to come together. Ramsey and Tonali are getting back to their best."
ChrisToonBarmyArmy writes: "Absolutely made up for Tonali, I hope this is what he needed to kickstart him. We all know he is one of the very best midfielders in the country, if not Europe, so seeing him struggle of late to reach his own high standard has been hard to watch. This game might be the start of him regaining his free-flowing brilliant best."
Mamil says: "Woltemade played well in the No.10 role, if that’s what it was. Often he dallies too long on the ball and loses it but tonight he got it just right. Lewis Hall was my MOTM, but Sandro gets it because the two goals and the influence that made on the game - fair enough."
Paranoidandroid adds: "Not just a great result, but a great game as well! Glad this was shown peak time on BBC - it was a good demonstration of the Toon at our best. But what a performance from the officials! Since VAR we don't often see such shambolic refereeing! Never mind, onwards!"
Using the comments section below, tell us what should happen if a referee and their team make obvious errors in a game.
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