Keith Hackett concurs that Newcastle United’s second penalty in their contentious victory over West Ham wasn’t worth giving.
When Anthony Gordon tried to clear the ball and was caught by Kalvin Phillips, referee Rob Jones signaled for a penalty.
Alexander Isak converted the penalty kick to make it 3-2 in a match that Newcastle managed to win, and Jones only gave it out after VAR got involved.
On March 31, Hackett said on X that he “agreed 100%” with the statement made that Newcastle should not have received the pen.
Newcastle United stun West Ham United in comeback win
The decision to award Newcastle their second penalty was quite clearly a pivotal moment in the contest.
West Ham were 3-1 up at St James’ Park with a little over 10 minutes to go and on their way to a big victory on their travels.
However, Phillips was penalised, Isak converted and Newcastle used that momentum to first equalise and then go on to win the match.
As for the incident itself, Phillips was trying to clear the ball and caught the boot of Gordon.
On yet another awful day, the Manchester City loanee spent far too long with the ball, but it was really harsh to give him a penalty.
In fact, not even Jones, who had the greatest view in the house from his position just yards away, thought it deserved a penalty.
This is yet another instance of VAR excessively officiating games, and it has cost the Hammers dearly this time around.
