Newcastle’s Victory at Villa Overshadowed by Referee Mistakes

In a match without VAR, refereeing mistakes took center stage as Newcastle United defeated Aston Villa in the FA Cup.

The Magpies came back to win at Villa Park on Saturday, securing a place in the fifth round draw, although the outcome could have been different.

Tammy Abraham scored first for Villa, but replays showed he was offside. The assistant referee did not raise their flag, and there was no VAR to double-check the goal.

Lucas Digne was lucky to stay on the field after a rough challenge on Jacob Murphy near halftime, receiving just a yellow card.

However, Villa soon played with ten men after Marco Bizot fouled Murphy outside the box, leading to a straightforward red card.

Newcastle were denied a penalty as Lucas Digne appeared to commit a handball offence in the box ❌

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In the second half, controversy continued as Digne handled the ball in the box, yet referee Chris Kavanagh chose to award a free kick instead.

Wayne Rooney, providing commentary for the BBC, called it “one of the worst decisions I have ever seen in football … it’s an absolute shocker.”

Fortunately for Newcastle, Sandro Tonali scored from the free kick to level the game, starting their comeback. The Italian midfielder later added a brilliant goal, and Nick Woltemade scored on his birthday.

“There’s no VAR – the penalty incident, I’m sure it was a penalty,” Kieran Trippier told BBC Match of the Day after the match. “But this is football; you have to deal with disappointments, and we did. Villa was dangerous with ten men, but that third goal was key.”

VAR Vindicated? Newcastle’s Win Over Villa Marred by Refereeing Errors

After the match, it’s clear why VAR was introduced. Major errors like Abraham’s offside and Digne’s handball could have been avoided. Despite its drawbacks, video review has been a significant benefit to the sport.

There are concerns, however, that referees may rely too much on VAR, leading to hesitance in making decisive calls during matches.

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