In the battle of the former Bournemouth managers, neither Eddie Howe nor Gary O’Neil could prevail. A full-blooded contest contained much high-end flair though another reminder that VAR serves to incite criticism and pressure on referees rather than make their life easier.
Anthony Taylor, the referee, delivered a series of debatable – and unpopular – decisions, including the penalty from which Callum Wilson scored his and Newcastle’s second. Taylor departed the scene to boos from home fans who had jeered his every subsequent decision; Stockley Park had taken an age to back the penalty call. The longer the video-room deliberation, the more suspicious the paying public become.
