Anthony Gordon’s red card against Brighton has been slammed by pundits as Newcastle United whimper out of the FA Cup.
The former Everton winger will now miss the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool and Premier League games against West Ham United and Brentford as he serves his three-match suspension for violent conduct.
The 24-year-old, perhaps frustrated with another shoddy performance, had a “moment of madness” when he lashed out and shoved Jan Paul van Hecke in the face late on before Danny Welbeck sent the Seagulls through to the quarter-finals in extra time.
Pundits react to Gordon red
Gordon has been criticised for his actions against Brighton on both BBC television and radio alike by a pair of England internationals.
Paul Robinson and Danny Murphy both spoke on the incident that has far from helped Newcastle to gather momentum ahead of a crunch period in the season with Eddie Howe’s side embroiled in competition for a Champions League spot.
“Petulance, that’s all it was,” said BBC Radio 5 Live pundit and 41-capped goalkeeper Robinson. “Anthony Gordon felt hard done by that he didn’t get a penalty [earlier on]. That motion is what the referee has seen. It is stupid from Anthony Gordon.
“He knows he cannot get there and he has run into Van Hecke with two hands. It looked like frustration to me. He has pushed the Brighton defender with force.”
Speaking on BBC One, Danny Murphy added: “It was a moment of madness because the whistle had already gone [for offside] which he obviously heard. The whistle’s gone and he just lashes out.”
It’s hard to disagree with either, it looked a red on initial viewing and further angles hardly flatter Gordon. Newcastle are ‘considering’ an appeal, but it’s hard to justify the wingers action regardless of his intent.
Howe defends Gordon
Newcastle being without one of their star men in the approach to a pivotal part of the season, with Lewis Hall and Sven Botman already absent from the matchday squad on Sunday, was unsurprisingly a focal point for the press post-match.
Gordon’s gaffer came to his defence, with the Magpies manager describing his behaviour as uncharacteristic. “He plays hard – I want him to play hard,” said Howe. “I want him to be competitive, but I don’t see an issue there at this moment.
“I think it would be very out of context with how he is generally, maybe a bit of frustration in the game that things weren’t going our way, but I’d say that’s not a common sight for me when Anthony plays.”
