‘No excuse’ – Furious VAR debate erupts in FA Cup as Newcastle denied blatant penalty in win over Aston Villa

Newcastle United were denied a penalty in their FA Cup fourth-round win over Aston Villa in quite extraordinary circumstances.

There is no VAR in the FA Cup until the fifth round, and it proved to go against the Magpies on Saturday evening.

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With Newcastle trailing 1-0 thanks to a controversial Tammy Abraham goal, Kieran Trippier delivered a cross from the right.

The ball then hit Lucas Digne‘s arm, and a free-kick was awarded on the edge of the area by referee Chris Kavanagh.

However, replays showed that Digne was clearly standing two yards inside the penalty area at the time.

The Newcastle players couldn’t believe what had happened, they all surrounded Kavanagh to make their feelings well known.

But because there was no VAR in action, the visitors were not awarded a penalty, which left the talkSPORT commentary team and Magpies boss Eddie Howe baffled.

Speaking after the incident, Joe Shennan said: “Howe cannot believe it! He’s miles inside the box there, Digne.”

And from there, Scott Minto added: “He’s at least a yard inside the box, his arm is up in an unnatural way. It’s a penalty that should be a penalty.”

Minto then went on to stick up for referee Kavanagh, saying on commentary: “I feel sorry for officials. They made a mistake and that’s what VAR is for. It’s for fixing clear and obvious errors.

“Everybody can make a mistake, it’s a bad mistake don’t get me wrong, the assistant is that side, he should be able to see it if the ref can’t. Two of them got it wrong, it’s a clear and obvious error, but he’s given the foul…he’s a yard inside the box, it’s a penalty.”

Incredibly, the error didn’t matter too much with Newcastle winning 3-1 thanks to a Sandro Tonali double and a Nick Woltemade goal.

‘One of the worst decisions I’ve seen’

Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has been left seething over the incident involving Digne, ranting to BBC post-match.

“There’s perhaps a small excuse for the referee to not see this and I’m being kind to him,” he started. “But there is no excuse whatsoever for the assistant, who had a nightmare today.

“Goodness me, if you ever needed any evidence of the damage VAR has done to the referees, today is a great example.”

Shearer added: “These guys looked petrified to make a decision today because they didn’t have a comfort blanket.”

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney then weighed in and said: “That decision is one of the worst decisions I’ve seen in football.

“At no stage was Digne out of the penalty box, you can clearly see how much he’s in there and to not give the decision…”

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To VAR or not to VAR?

On the lack of VAR in the FA Cup, there was a hefty debate between host Hugh Woozencroft and Minto at half time before the Digne handball, due to several other incidents.

Woozencroft said: “The Premier League might be desperate for the FA Cup to get VAR as I think it’s making them look bad.

“I don’t mind it to be perfectly honest….the game is entertaining, it’s exactly what we want.”

In response, Minto said: “I’ve always been for VAR, I don’t mind if it’s not there. I’ve been for it, but less is more and only clear and obvious errors.

“But if Newcastle were knocked out of the FA Cup by a bad decision, they can say what is going on here?! So, this is exactly why you need VAR, for these types of crucial moments.”

Further to that, Woozencroft said: “I’m for a level playing field for every competition.”

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To which Minto responded: “But the teams on the pitch are on a level playing field [with or without VAR].

“If they’re not able to do it, both teams accept that going onto the pitch. VAR was brought in to try and stop decisions like this.”

A strange night

After the match, Woozencroft couldn’t work out if this was an advert to get rid of VAR or to have it all the time.

There were several very controversial moments across the match.

After a bright opening from Newcastle, Villa scored through Abraham.

The hosts were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area that Douglas Luiz cleverly dinked over the top of the Newcastle defence.

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Abraham wandered in and converted past Aaron Ramsdale for his first goal back at Villa Park.

However, replays showed that the striker was offside, and if Howe wasn’t annoyed about that, his patience was about to be seriously tested.

Lewis Hall danced into the box and was tripped by Victor Lindelof, but the referee didn’t award a penalty.

There was then a strong challenge from Digne and Jacob Murphy, that on another day, would have seen him sent off.

Then came a decision that went Newcastle’s way as Murphy was cleaned out by Marco Bizot, who had raced off his line, and he was sent off.

That meant at half time, it was 1-0 to Villa.

Newcastle dig deep

After they were not awarded a penalty for Digne’s handball, Trippier’s free-kick was cleared as far as Tonali.

He lashed a shot at goal that took a nick off a home shirt and nestled in the back of the net.

From there, the visitors went up a gear and piled the pressure on before Dan Burn passed to Tonali on the edge of the area, and he thundered a stunning strike into the bottom corner.

It was a rocket from the Italian, who has had question marks over his Newcastle future recently.

And with Villa pushing for a late equaliser, Lamar Bogarde gifted possession away on the edge of the area.

Joe Willock won it back, it ran for Woltemade, and he popped one into the top corner to score his first goal since December on his birthday.

And that means Newcastle will be in the fifth round of the FA Cup, where VAR comes in.