Ref Watch: Dermot Gallagher says Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran deserves a red card against Newcastle | soccer news

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher assesses controversial moments from the Boxing Day clash, including the red cards of Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran and Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes.

Newcastle 3-0 Aston Villa

case: Duran was sent off after appearing to kick out at Newcastle’s Fabian Schaer. It took referee Anthony Taylor 30 seconds to show Duran a red card after the incident. Villa manager Unai Emery said after the game that the club would appeal Duran’s three-match ban.

Dermot says: I thought it was a red card. People say he’s off balance because Schar pulls him and there’s always going to be contact, but I thought he could avoid it. This is what Anthony Taylor saw.

What I like is that Taylor follows it up, sees what happened, and takes her time. I don’t have a problem with that because the ball is dead. He probably got some input from assistants and the fourth official. He took his time. That’s not frivolous. The direction of my right leg has changed. That’s what Anthony saw. I can see it. The assistant said he had seen it too.

Decisions were made in real time, and no one went to the monitors like a CSI breakdown. The process was about humans making the right decisions.

VAR watched this. He felt the referee was right. Assuming he sent him to the screen, it looks really bad in slow motion. So if Taylor had been sent there, I’m sure he would still have said it was a red card.

Emery went on to hint at a three-game suspension. Is a three-game ban too much for that? Maybe that’s why he was so angry.

They will have to prove that the referee made a clear and obvious mistake. This makes appeals quite difficult.

case: Joelinton was booked just before half-time. Morgan Rogers felt like he got punched in the face here, but was he okay?

Dermot says: The referee handled this part really well. Whether he should take action against Rogers is debatable. He certainly doesn’t hit him in the face, and he’s not violent, but there’s no need for a player to do that.

Wolves 2-0 Manchester United

case: Bruno Fernandes was sent off by referee Tony Harrington for a second yellow card. He won his first award for taking down Matheus Cunha. His second came after a break for a tackle on Nelson Semedo.

Dermot says: A tackle like the first one will always result in a yellow card. It’s a swamp standard. No attempt is made to play the ball. Tony Harrington has done very well and he is really growing in confidence.

I don’t know why he makes the second tackle. This is because the field is too far away. If you look closely, it is not a smart tackle but a yellow card foul. Everyone is disappointed when you get sent off, but that was one thing.

case: Wolves scored their first goal directly from a corner kick. Andre Onana complained that Matt Doherty interfered with him on the goal line. The goal has been reached.

Dermot says: Matt Doherty has every right to be where he is. He doesn’t do anything wrong. He was allowed to stand his ground.

Onana actually pushes Doherty from behind and Doherty doesn’t move towards him. Doherty’s arm is there but his starting position is there and he moves back rather than backing down.

Southampton 0-1 West Ham

case: In the match against Southampton, West Ham’s Guido Rodriguez received a red card. Lewis Smith was asked to take another look at this, but reversed his request. Was that the right decision?

Dermot says: It’s 100%. This is where VAR really comes into play. The umpire thought he slipped on both feet and called him out. But if you look closely, you can see that he went to pull it down but didn’t catch it. The referee looks and only correctly states a yellow card.

Nottm Forest 1-0 Tottenham

case: Djed Spence was sent off in added time for a second yellow card. He threw the ball away and got the first one. Did a second foul warrant an ejection?

Dermot says: He doesn’t have to do it. At 90+4 you don’t need to do that because it wouldn’t be wise. I had no intention of playing with the ball, and I paid the price for my moment of careless anger when I threw it.

case: Tottenham appealed for a penalty kick after thinking Nottingham Forest defender Murillo had handled the ball in the penalty box. What did you make with this Dermot?

Dermot says: He will be very angry if he is penalized for this. It just hit him, and we all know it can’t be a penalty because he can’t move his arm.

case: Forest avoided any reprimand although they felt Fraser Forster handled the ball outside his box.

Dermot says: The thing to remember is that it is the ball that has to stay in the box, not Fraser Forster. It doesn’t matter if the ball is on the line.

Liverpool 3-1 Leicester

case: During Liverpool’s win against Leicester, there was a late offside that seemed to take forever. In reality, it was 3 minutes and 14 seconds, but the signal had already been given in the stadium. Does this increase the argument for getting semi-automatic offsides faster?

Dermot says: I had two tests, but it took too long. People say it’s annoying, but this is what the people have demanded. Now we have given you the technology to make the right decisions.

This is the process, this is what we heard, this is what we saw. Over the past five years, we’ve come a long way and are able to make much more accurate decisions. Much better. Semi-automatic offside is currently a work in progress. If it seems like it will take a long time, I think you can wait until next season.

This should be 100% when released, just needs some tweaking for now.

case: In Liverpool, voices calling for a penalty kick for Leicester came out early. The ball hit Cody Gakpo’s hand in the corner, but was it in an unnatural position?

Dermot says: It would be too difficult to give. No one could see it there. There is no evidence that he handled the ball, so go with the on-field decision. People don’t like to say this about referees, but common sense prevailed.