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Newcastle United have already lodged a complaint following a decision made by Peter Bankes earlier in the season.
Newcastle United were able to beat Manchester United 2-1 despite having Jacob Ramsey controversially sent off at St James’ Park on Wednesday evening.
Ramsey was shown a second yellow card by referee Peter Bankes for alleged simulation despite replays showing the Newcastle midfielder had tripped and did not appeal for a penalty kick after going to the ground. Ramsey’s first booking also came about following his first foul of the match in the middle of the pitch.
As VAR can’t intervene for second yellow card offences, Ramsey’s red card stood and he will now be suspended for Saturday’s FA Cup fifth round clash against Manchester City as a result.
Eddie Howe slams ‘poor decision’
Reacting to the decision, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe said: “I thought very iffy, in my opinion. I don’t think Jacob’s gone down to simulate or mislead the referee in any way.
“I think he’s maybe anticipating contact. It doesn’t come, he loses his footing. I think you’ve got to be really careful before changing the game in that way, like the referee did. And sort of ruin the game to a degree as a spectacle, although maybe not from our side at the end, because we’ve got the result we wanted.
“But the game was very different, a lot slower. Yeah, I thought it was a poor decision, personally.”
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Newcastle United have already complained about Peter Bankes’ VAR call
But it’s not the first poor decision involving this particular referee this season for Newcastle. In fact, in Bankes’ last game involving the Magpies, he was part of a decision that saw the club lodge an official complaint to the PGMOL seeking answers.
Bankes was in charge of VAR for Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea back in December at St James’ Park in which the hosts were denied a penalty after Anthony Gordon was pushed down inside the box by Trevoh Chalobah. The decision for VAR not to intervene and overturn Andy Madley’s on-field decision was slammed in the aftermath of the game as Chelsea went on to snatch a point despite trailing 2-1 at the time.
“Yes, we will be seeking clarification,” Howe said at the time. “That call has already gone in, not from me personally, but from the club. We just want to know the thought process behind the decision.”
Newcastle will once again be wondering the thought process that led to Bankes sending off Ramsey on Wednesday night.
Fortunately, it is a decision that could be avoided next season due to a rule change involving VAR intervening with second yellow card offences.
“I think so, because I think it changes the game so much,” Howe said about welcoming the rule change. “And negatively, in my opinion, when you see any numerical difference between teams, the game changes poorly, for my opinion.
“There were fewer transitions. Obviously we couldn’t attack in the same way. So, yeah, I think that would be useful.”
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