Newcastle legend Alan Shearer didn't hold back in his criticism of the officials in Saturday's 3-1 win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup over the weekend
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer was fuming with referee Chris Kavanagh in Newcastle's 3-1 win over Aston Villa(Image: The Rest is Football podcast)
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Alan Shearer has admitted the BBC might have been left with no choice but to sack him had he been on co-commentary for Newcastle United's 3-1 victory at Aston Villa, following the catalogue of refereeing howlers in the FA Cup clash. Eddie Howe's side fought back to triumph at Villa Park and book their place in the fifth round.
Yet the match was marred by multiple glaring mistakes from Chris Kavanagh and his assistant. Tammy Abraham's opening goal was permitted despite being offside, whilst Lucas Digne avoided a red card for a dangerous challenge on Jacob Murphy.
After the break, Newcastle were denied a clear-cut penalty when Digne handled Kieran Trippier's delivery in the area, with Kavanagh awarding a free-kick instead. His linesman, who also failed to the spot Abraham's offside, didn't notice the handball inside the box either.
Two days on from the FA Cup triumph, Shearer was analysing the contentious tie on 'The Rest is Football' podcast alongside Gary Lineker and Micah Richards. The St. James' Park icon revealed that being in the studio as a presenter, rather than on live commentary, spared him from landing in serious hot water after Kavanagh's baffling calls.
"You've got time to think when you're in the studio, because more often or not, by the time they've come to you, you've got a fewer minutes to work out what you're going to say, how you're going to say it and you've got time to look at your analysis - unless it happens in the last seconds," he explained.
"If I were on the co-comms on the Aston Villa vs Newcastle one, I might have been sacked! Because with what I wanted to say RE the referee and the assistant, honestly!"
Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and Sandro Tonali of Newcastle United react after referee Chris Kavanagh
Newcastle United were furious with Chris Kavanagh after he denied them a penalty(Image: Getty Images)
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He continued: "We're allowed a bad day, but let's be honest, guys, those three yesterday, seriously, how bad were they? They were terrible. I would say out of five, maybe four, big decisions, simple decisions, I would say, they got one correct.
"What's been happening is they've been with VAR since the beginning of the season, all the Premier League, and everything they've had to do.
"Then they get to that game and all of a sudden, they haven't got their comfort blanket that they have been relying on to say, 'Oh it doesn't really matter if I get it wrong because the VAR will correct me.' Well yesterday, because of that, they were hopeless!
"Digne should have been sent off for a terrible tackle. The assistant who missed the handball also missed the handball, a simple decision. I know it's a hard job, but we all have a bad day. Come on, guys, they have to do better.
"At this level of football, the importance of it. Luckily, Newcastle won the game because of the decisions that went against them, but can you imagine if they hadn't gone through? The backlash that would have happened."
During the BBC's match coverage, with Shearer working as a pundit alongside Wayne Rooney and Dion Dublin, he delivered a withering assessment of the officiating standards. At the time, Shearer said: "He cost for the offside free-kick (Tammy Abraham's opening goal for Villa) and he's 15 yards away from that. Goodness me!
"If you ever needed any evidence of the damage VAR has done to the referees, I think today is a great example of that, because these guys, I think, look petrified to make a decision today because they didn't have a comfort blanket.
"And that's the damage it's done to the officials. For me, they're actually getting worse because I really don't think that is a difficult decision at all, in fact it's easy and at this standard, that has to be given. There's no excuse for the assistant not to tell his referee that he's got that totally wrong."
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