Jamie Carragher heavily criticized the decision to award Paris Saint-Germain a penalty against Newcastle United in the Champions League, branding it as ‘awful’. Thierry Henry, the former France striker, described it as ‘controversial at best’ while Kylian Mbappe converted the penalty in stoppage time, causing heartbreak for Newcastle United. Eddie Howe, up until the final moments, believed his team was on the verge of securing a crucial victory in Paris that would have lifted them off the bottom of Group F.
Despite now occupying third place, the consensus suggests Newcastle should rightfully be in second. Carragher emphasized that such calls are universally disliked, expressing this sentiment during an interview with CBS Sports on Paramount+ (28/11/23 at 10:15 pm). The penalty was awarded against Tino Livramento, and Carragher highlighted that Livramento was in motion to run, echoing the thoughts also shared by Paul Merson. The issue seems not to stem from the referee’s understanding but rather from a technicality in the rules that unjustly deems such actions as penalties.
Newcastle penalty controversy v PSG
“And then the controversial penalty to say the least,” Henry went on to remark. “It allows PSG to come back and put themselves in a position where they must, at the very least, not lose.” It was critical that they did not lose tonight.”
“That is an awful decision to go against you as a football player,” Carragher remarked. I understand when you say stuff like ‘the arm is apart from the body and such’.
“He’s almost there. It requires a deflection. His arm is in a running motion. What exactly is he supposed to do with his arm? His arm isn’t simply hanging out there. He is genuinely motioning to run and protect – they are not liked by anyone. This is not popular with supporters.”
Newcastle still fighting
The Magpies were concerned that there might be no Europe after Christmas.
But now their fate is in their own hands; after the game, Ally McCoist applauded four Newcastle players.
Newcastle’s final game is a home match against bottom-of-the-table AC Milan. If they win, they will play in the Europa League.
And if Dortmund can defeat PSG in the final round of fixtures, it means a place in the knockout stages for this Newcastle team, who deserved so much more from yesterday’s game.
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