Gary Neville claims officials made the ‘CORRECT’ decision to award Newcastle’s winner against Arsenal after Mikel Arteta said the decision was an ‘absolute disgrace’
Gary Neville has claimed the officials made the ‘correct’ decision to award Newcastle’s controversial winner against Arsenal.
Anthony Gordon struck in the 64th minute to give Newcastle a 1-0 win, but much drama followed the controversial goal.
The goal went through three separate VAR checks: to confirm Joe Willock kept the ball in play before crossing, a possible foul on Gabriel by Joelinton and whether Gordon was offside.
After a lengthy analysis, VAR officials ruled that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta would be left fuming in his post-match interviews.
But Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has suggested the officials made the right call in the closely fought match at St James’ Park.
Anthony Gordon (right) bundled the ball to seal a 1-0 win against Arsenal on Saturday
Stuart Atwell (centre) was at the center of the controversy after VAR awarded the controversial goal
Neville took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share his thoughts on the incident
Neville wrote of X: ‘I thought the decision for the Newcastle goal was right.
‘The ball out was inconclusive at best, certainly not a mistake for me and if VAR cannot prove offside then the decision should stand on the pitch.’
In response to Neville’s post, a fan took a still image of the incident which appeared to show Newcastle’s Joelinton interfering with Gabriel. The caption read: “Arms fully extended.”
Marcel then gave another reaction, as he said: ‘He had already bent over to turn it on and he threw his legs back! I tried to do it. It was not a violation.”
It is understood Neville’s views are not shared by Arsenal boss Arteta, who slammed the referee’s decisions during his post-match interview.
The Arsenal boss said: ‘How on earth did this goal stand? It’s unbelievable. I am ashamed. It is an absolute shame that this is allowed. It is not a goal for many reasons.
“It’s so hard to compete at this level. This is nowhere near the (referee) level to describe this as the best competition in the world. I feel sick to be a part of this.”
Arteta later added: ‘The punishment for Eddie, there are many things. The question is: it is not a goal, it is simple. Before a goal there are certainly things that are not allowed in football.
The first thing the VAR looked at was whether Joe Willock managed to keep the ball in play
Officials then tried to determine if this was a push on Gabriel by Joelinton
Arteta claimed the decision to award the goal made him ‘sick’ in his post-match interviews
‘I have to stand here and explain that we lost three points. There’s too much at stake. It’s humiliating. It’s not in their hands, I have to commend the players for how they are playing here.
“It’s unbelievable how they competed against this team, it makes me sick. I feel sick to be a part of this.”
Arsenal failed to overturn the 1-0 deficit as the Gunners suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season and lost important ground in the title race.
Arteta’s side sit third in the Premier League, three points behind reigning champions Man City after their 6-1 home win over Bournemouth.
