Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer react to “terrible decision” in Newcastle match

Newcastle United extended their unbeaten run with a goalless draw against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday.

Eddie Howe managed to grind out another point against his former team, but the encounter was defined by refereeing controversy.

Poor decisions in the Newcastle game

Former referee Mark Clattenburg felt Malick Thiaw was fortunate to avoid a second yellow card, which would have left the visitors facing the final half-hour a man down. The Magpies were also left aggrieved when Nick Woltemade was brought down in the penalty area after strong pressure from Bournemouth’s defenders.

In the final minutes, Bournemouth were awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position when Harvey Barnes was controversially penalised for handball. The winger had the ball struck against him from close range, with his arms tight to his body, but the referee blew for a foul. Kluivert’s low strike from the set piece seemed destined for the corner until Pope reacted brilliantly to push it away, rescuing a valuable point for Howe’s men.

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Shearer and Lineker react to the referee’s decision

Meanwhile, Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer felt that Newcastle would have been fuming had the late free-kick found the net, branding the decision ludicrous.

Lineker said on The Rest is Football podcast: “It wasn’t great. I thought, actually, the first half an hour was all right. It was quite end-to-end, and it had quite a good pace to it. And then it just kind of petered out to nothing. Do you know what I was thinking? Alan’s going to do this podcast in a minute. Bournemouth are going to score. You know, right near the end, they got a free kick on the edge of the box.

Shearer added: “Terrible decision, the handball?

Lineker continued: “The handball. It was ludicrous, wasn’t it? And they wouldn’t have been able to turn it over because it was not a penalty. It was just outside. And I was thinking, Alan’s going to go absolutely ballistic if this goes in. I mean, he blasted it at him from about a yard. He had his hands by his side. It was just ludicrous.

Shearer: “I would have told you where to go if that had gone in and we had have been beaten 1-0. I just wouldn’t have come on.”

Meanwhile, Newcastle will need to raise their performance levels if they want to have an impressive season. They have not been at their best going forward, and they need to start creating more opportunities if they want to find the back of the net regularly.