Alan Shearer shares Bruno Guimaraes red card verdict in West Ham v Newcastle United
Alan Shearer conceded Bruno Guimaraes was “fortunate” not to be sent off for Newcastle United in the 2-2 draw against West Ham.
The Hammers earned a point in a back-and-forth contest at the London Stadium on Sunday (8 October) but the flashpoint involved the Magpies’ Brazilian midfielder Bruno.
He was first booked for a trip on Emerson Palmieri and then not long after escaped punishment for a crude challenge on James Ward-Prowse.
Newcastle legend Shearer, speaking on Match of the Day 2 (8 October, iPlayer 53:05), admitted Newcastle should have been down to 10 men.
“Just for clarity and just to say there’s no bias, I thought it should have been a red card,” he said.
“I thought it should have been two yellow cards. Bruno didn’t agree with this one but he does stick his leg out there and it is rightly a yellow card, then 90 seconds later you get the second tackle, it’s a poor pass from (Sandro) Tonali there and he’s fortunate.
“On another day, I think the correct decision would have been a yellow card or a red card so Newcastle got away with one there.”
Could have changed the game
In the end a point for West Ham against a side who have just hammered Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League is probably not the worst result, especially when viewed in isolation.
But Newcastle were not at all at the races in the first half, and had Bruno been sent off – which he 100 per cent should have been – then it really could have changed the complexion of this fixture.
No one really wants to be bashing the referees week in, week out, we all want to be talking about the action on the pitch. But when they are failing to make such easy decisions as this one it can be massively frustrating.
Bruno himself said he should not have been booked for his clip on Emerson, but it was a clear and deliberate act. The second one is even more of a blindly obvious caution. He should have been heading for an early bath, there are no two ways about it.
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