Newcastle were left aggrieved at the weekend and a former top official has had his say
Dan Burn of Newcastle United reacts as he speaks with referee Thomas Bramall
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Newcastle United were left angry at the weekend after more refereeing controversy, this time in their away game against Manchester City.
Fresh from the ridiculous officiating against Aston Villa in the FA Cup, when Chris Kavanagh and his team made a handful of high-profile mistakes, Newcastle were left feeling aggrieved again by the performance of the match officials at the Etihad on Saturday night.
Dan Burn thought he had headed Newcastle level, only to be ruled offside after being shoved into an offside position by Ruben Dias. And then Man City winger Bernardo Silva was lucky to escape a second yellow card after blatantly barging into Burn while the ball was in the air.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe admitted after the game he would be seeking answers over the ruling where the Burn incident was concerned and also expressed his frustration at a number of other decisions.
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Speaking on Sky Sports' Ref Watch segment, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher admitted there was nothing that could have been done about the Dias push, because it had happened before the ball was in play, just before Sandro Tonali whipped in a free kick.
"This happened a couple of times at the weekend where players committed a foul before the ball is in play so you can't be punished," he said. "He [Dias] gives him a little shove then the ball is kicked in and Dan Burn is in an offside position.
"It impacts the move and gets given offside, it's unlucky. The only thing Dan Burn could do is say to the kicker 'stop, wait, let me get into position'."
Fellow pundit Jay Bothroyd laughed: "I think that's great play from Ruben Dias to be honest, that's just experience."
Bernardo Silva of Manchester City challenges Dan Burn of Newcastle United
Bernardo Silva of Manchester City challenges Dan Burn of Newcastle United
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Gallagher also discussed the decision of referee Thomas Bramall not to give Silva a second yellow card for his foul on Burn in the second half, calling it a 'reckless challenge'.
"He takes a massive chance, doesn't he?" he said. "I think that's a reckless challenge, he doesn't look at the ball, the ball's not there."
Bothroyd also weighed in, saying that the fact it was a 5ft 8in player in Silva competing against 6ft 7in Burn may have impacted the decision-making.
"I think the referee is looking and think that's just little Bernardo Silva, he's not going to hurt Dan Burn," Bothroyd said. "If that was [Erling] Haaland he would get a yellow card there without a doubt. I think the fact Bernardo Silva is a small man is the reason why he's looked at it and thought that isn't a yellow card."
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