Newcastle United penalty call an “absolute VAR mistake” says Thomas Frank | OneFootball

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank dismissed the penalty awarded to Newcastle late in Tuesday night’s 2-2 draw at St James’ Park as an “absolute mistake”, arguing VAR had overreached in intervening on an incident he felt referee Thomas Bramall had judged correctly on the pitch, as reported by BBC Sport.

With the match finely poised at 1-1 in the 86th minute, VAR advised Bramall to review footage of Rodrigo Bentancur grappling with Dan Burn as a Newcastle corner was delivered. What appeared at first glance to be routine penalty-box jostling was upgraded to a spot-kick after the pitchside monitor check, with the Premier League match centre later explaining that Bentancur “clearly does not look at the ball” while committing a “holding offence”.

Anthony Gordon duly converted, only for Cristian Romero to salvage a point for Spurs with a spectacular 95th-minute overhead kick.

Frank, however, remained incensed by the decision. “It was an absolute mistake from the VAR,” he said. “The referee nailed it on the pitch. For me, that is never a penalty. Even some from Newcastle didn’t think it was a penalty. We need consistency.”

Pundits across broadcasters echoed the sentiment, suggesting the threshold applied would result in “a penalty every game”. BBC Radio 5 Live analysts pointed to the routine nature of the tussle, while Sky Sports’ Micah Richards described Burn as “too strong” for Bentancur rather than unfairly impeded.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe offered a more sympathetic reading of the decision, noting Bentancur’s focus “isn’t on the ball at all”, but debate persisted over VAR’s role in re-refereeing subjective moments.

The incident is the latest to sharpen scrutiny on VAR’s application, particularly around subjective fouls, and reinforces ongoing calls from managers and commentators for greater uniformity in decision-making at the highest level.

GFN | Finn Entwistle