‘Eddie Howe you have been let down by these two incompetent officials’: Former Premier League referees’ chief blasts David Coote and VAR for letting Chelsea get away with both Havertz’s elbow and Chalobah’s ‘so obvious’ penalty against Newcastle
- Chelsea scored a late winner through Kai Havertz against Newcastle on Sunday
- The Blues though had two fortunate decisions that went their way in the game
- Havertz only received a booking following an elbow on defender Dan Burn
- Officials decided not to award a penalty after a challenge by Trevoh Chalobah
- Former official Keith Hackett has hit out at officials in the game’s aftermath
Former Premier League official Keith Hackett says Newcastle were let down by ‘two incompetent officials’ during their 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Kai Havertz scored an 89th-minute winner for Thomas Tuchel’s side, though Newcastle felt aggrieved that two key decisions went against them on Sunday.
In the first-half, goalscorer Havertz was fortunate to only receive a yellow card following an elbow on Magpies defender Dan Burn.
Kai Havertz scored the winner against Newcastle but was lucky not to be sent off for an elbow
Trevoh Chalobah meanwhile got away with bringing Jacon Murphy down in the penalty area
Newcastle were also denied what appeared to be a clear penalty after Trevoh Chalobah brought down Jacob Murphy inside Chelsea’s area.
Though Chalobah failed to win the ball, referee David Coote decided not to give a penalty and VAR official John Brooks also judged that the incident should not be reviewed on the pitchside monitor.
Regarding the penalty decision which was not given, Hackett said Eddie Howe had been let down by Coote and Brooks.
Keith Hackett slammed David Coote, VAR official John Brooks and Mike Riley in a series of tweets
Hackett is the former head of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body responsible for refereeing standards in English professional football.
He tweeted: ‘What an appalling decision- this was holding that prevented forward movement. The push brought him down to the ground. Eddie Howe you have been let down by these two incompetent officials.’
He also commented: ‘David Coote is having a bit of a mare. Havertz should have received a red card for his high elbow into the face of Newcastle’s Burns (sic).
‘In the second half Chelsea’s number 14 holds the shirt of his opponent then pushes him over with left arm. Penalty kick to Newcastle not awarded.
‘We need Nigel Owens (Welsh rugby referee) on this holding offence don’t we. It is so obvious a penalty kick. If I was Eddie Howe I would be asking Mike Riley to explain.’
Hackett suggested that Eddie Howe had been let down by ‘incompetent officials’ in the match
Hackett also responded to a number of tweets in regards to the separate incidents and said that current PGMOL general manager, Mike Riley, has his ‘head in the sand’.
One Twitter user said to Hackett: ‘What will it take for (Mike) Riley to be held to account for the utter incompetence of his employees and the appalling use of VAR. This #CHENEW is showing how far standards have fallen.’
Hackett responded: ‘We see it – he (Riley) and the Board of Directors of PGMOL have their heads in the sand. They clearly know nothing about the game.’
He went on to later tweet: ‘I want to state that the standard of officiating delivered by (Michael) Oliver and (Anthony) Taylor is the benchmark that others need to get to. Both have excellent movement, dynamic sprint and courage.’
Hackett retired as a referee in 1994 and held the role as PGMOL general manager from 2002 to 2009.
Newcastle had been undefeated in their last nine Premier League matches before the defeat to Chelsea.
On Sky Sports, Jamie Redknapp slammed the ‘diabolical’ refereeing after Newcastle were denied that he thought was a ‘blatant’ penalty against Chelsea.
Redknapp said: ‘It’s diabolical refereeing because if you’re not sure you’ve got the luxury of VAR.
‘How he cannot see that, he’s (Murphy’s) getting pulled, Trevor Chalobah is going in with his wrong foot, digging and digging again.
‘It’s a blatant penalty, if you cannot see that and you’ve got the VAR as well, David Coote needs to make better decisions.
His fellow pundit Micah Richards added: ‘This is crystal clear, Newcastle fans can definitely be aggrieved with this situation. Chalobah gets the wrong side, he gets him twice, he’s grabbed him and then tried to get the ball. It’s a penalty.
‘I do think this one is a clear and obvious error, anyone can see. First it puts him (Murphy) off balance and then he (Chalobah) puts his leg in.’
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