When Newcastle walk out at Wembley to play in their first cup final for 24 years on Sunday, there will be one player conspicuous by his absence.
Nick Pope has been an ever-present for the Magpies in the Premier League, starting all 23 of their matches. The 30-year-old has conceded just 15 goals in those matches – eight fewer than any other Premier League side.
But he will not be in Eddie Howe’s starting XI for Newcastle’s first cup final since the 1999 FA Cup. He is not injured. He has not been dropped for breaking team rules. And he has not picked up a single booking in his five appearances in the Carabao Cup this season.
Pope will serve a one-match suspension this weekend after being sent off in Newcastle’s 2-0 defeat by Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday night. He made a stupid mistake, handling the ball outside of his area after misjudging its flight, to prevent a goalscoring opportunity for Mohamed Salah.
Referee Anthony Taylor followed the letter of the law and showed him a straight red card. Despite not being for violent conduct, that card comes with serious ramifications when shown in the match before a cup final. Pope knew what it meant straight away and was visibly upset in the aftermath as it dawned on him.
Speaking after the match to Sky Sports, Howe said he thought the decision was harsh. It wasn’t – but the punishment that comes with it undeniably is.
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Pope has not won any silverware during his career. And while he will still be at Wembley and would still collect a winners’ medal if Newcastle beat Manchester United on Sunday, he won’t be allowed to compete.
Instead, Newcastle will have to field Loris Karius or Mark Gillespie – two players who have been nowhere near the first team all season, with back-up Martin Dubravka ineligible after playing on loan for United earlier in the campaign.
Over the past few days there have been plenty of sympathetic messages for Pope, who has taken the news on the chin, according to his team-mates. “I’m gutted for him,” Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff told Sky Sports. “Because we are really close – he’s probably my best friend in the squad. When I saw him walking off, as much as it was hard for him, I felt just as bad. Seeing him after, it was so disappointing for him. He’s been so good for us.”
Gary Lineker went on an impassioned rant on Match of the Day, in which he implored the authorities to let him play against United. He said: “He's going to miss the cup final now, that seems disproportionate and wasn't Joelinton on nine yellows? If he'd got another, he would have missed two games but not the Carabao Cup final.
"That's an anomaly, why is that? Come on, let him play in the cup final! He's been brilliant this season.”
Former Premier League referee and chairman of the PGMOL Keith Hackett agreed. He tweeted: “Football can be very cruel and sadly because of a few seconds of almost doing something naturally Nick Pope misses a final. The referee was correct to dismiss Pope. The authorities should delay the sanction to enable Pope to play. There I have said it.”
Lineker is quite right in pointing out the absurdity of the rules by mentioning Newcastle midfielder Joelinton. Had he been booked against Liverpool on Saturday he would have served a two-match ban, but both games would have been in the Premier League.
Newcastle had a similar situation, albeit with a different outcome, when Bruno Guimaraes received a red card in the semi-final second leg against Southampton. The Brazilian has subsequently missed three Premier League games, against West Ham, Bournemouth and Liverpool, but, having served the ban, he will play in the final.
Another quirk of the suspension system came earlier in the season when United captain Harry Maguire received a suspension in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup which only applied to that competition, and not the Premier League.
The system is clearly riddled with inconsistencies. Pope’s rush of blood to the head has seen him fall foul of it and leave his side with an unfair disadvantage before a ball has even been kicked in the first cup final of the season.
