Newcastle United goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek conceded a penalty against Coventry City after being adjudged to have fouled the Sky Blues centre-forward Sidiki Cherif
Newcastle United goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek fouls Coventry City's Sidiki Cherif leading to a penalty during the Premier League match at the Coventry Building Society Arena
Lukas Hornicek dived full-stretch at the feet of Sidiki Cherif(Image: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire)
Alan Smith called the penalty Newcastle United conceded against Coventry City a "stick-on" after Lukas Hornicek "made a complete mess of it".
The goalkeeper was adjudged to have fouled Sky Blues striker Sidiki Cherif by referee John Brooks. Hornicek initially denied Ephron Mason-Clark one-on-one, but the ball rebounded off him to the Coventry centre-forward.
After throwing himself at the ball, Cherif appeared to flick it over Hornicek's outstretched arms, which instead made contact with the opposition player's right foot. The Sky Blues' summer signing jumped up in the air, throwing both his arms and legs up in the air, appealing.
Smith was in no doubt that Brooks made the correct decision, saying while commentating live on Sky Sports: "Well, he's made a complete mess of it at the start, he should've collected it first time, and then it's panic stations."
The former Arsenal and Leicester City striker concluded: "Cherif gets there first, and yeah it's a stick-on penalty... that's a pen all day long," adding that the referee "had a good view of it".
Steve Cooper in the Monday Night Football studio also agreed. The former Leicester and Nottingham Forest head coach said: "The goalkeeper hasn't covered himself in glory."
Newcastle United's goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek brings down Coventry City's Sidiki Cherif to concede a penalty kick
Sidiki Cherif hurdled Lukas Hornicek after flicking the ball over the Newcastle United goalkeeper's outstretched hands(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
Asked if he would expect Hornicek to get hold of it in the first instance and deal with the ball, Cooper concurred: "You do, yeah, you'd think so, to be fair. He's in a good position, he looks fairly comfortable.
"It's common, isn't it? You follow one mistake with another, and that seems to be what's happened there."
However, the former Newcastle defender John Anderson did not agree with Cooper or Smith. He said on BBC Radio Newcastle: "I'm not sure, I don't think that's a penalty. He's got something on it, but I still don't think it's a penalty."
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Anderson reiterated at half-time: "I thought it was a soft penalty to give away." It is the tenth that Newcastle have conceded across all competitions since the start of last season.
Four of those came in the Champions League, one in each leg against Barcelona, both of which Lamine Yamal scored. Aaron Ramsdale, however, saved one from Marko Jankovic against Qarabag, and Nick Pope denied Ousmane Dembele in the 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain.
All five in the Premier League, though, went in. Newcastle conceded just two in the 2025/26 season, with Pope saving one from Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze.