Newcastle United defender Dan Burn believes Kai Havertz was lucky to avoid a red card for his 'naughty' challenge during the defeat at Chelsea. The German international was booked despite elbowing the centre-back in the face during the first-half aerial duel in a collision which left the 29-year-old requiring treatment.
Havertz would go on to score the only goal of the contest on Sunday afternoon, latching on to Jorginho's long pass and expertly dispatching past Martin Dubravka. It was a defeat which marked the end of the Magpies' nine-match unbeaten run in the Premier League, and Burn believes he would have been dismissed had the foul been 'the other way around'.
He told NUFC TV: "I thought it was a sending off. I can guarantee if it was the other way around, I wouldn't have been on the pitch.
"The ref said because he was looking at the ball the whole time, that's why he hadn't been [sent off]. As I say, I thought it was bit naughty, but he's not given it and he's ended up scoring at the end.
"It's cost us a little bit, but you can't complain about it too much. These top quality players can punish if you switch off for a second, and that's what happens."
Eddie Howe was forced into a late reshuffle after both Jonjo Shelvey and Joe Willock were ruled out through illness, and changed formation for the clash at Stamford Bridge. The Magpies battled hard, and were left frustrated when referee David Coote did not award a penalty for Trevoh Chalobah's challenge on Jacob Murphy.
The referee did not check the monitor after awarding a corner kick despite the Chelsea defender making no contact with the ball. When asked about VAR, Burn added: "I don't really know what the rules are anymore to be honest. It's just disappointing, it's gone a little funny ever since VAR has come in. I don't know what clear and obvious counts as to cover people's backs.
"But as I said, they haven't given it and we can't look back on it too much. Hopefully it evens itself out over the course of the season, and we'll get a couple."
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