Ex-Premier League referee issues ‘extremely lucky’ verdict on West Ham v Newcastle United incident

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher says Bruno Guimaraes was “extremely lucky” to avoid a second yellow card during Newcastle United’s 2-2 draw against West Ham United on Sunday.

The Brazilian was booked in the 17th minute at the London Stadium before avoiding a second caution shortly after for a challenge on James Ward-Prowse. West Ham led 1-0 at the time through Tomas Soucek’s early opener before the Magpies turned the game on its head on the hour-mark with a quick-fire brace from Alexander Isak.

Guimaraes played a key role in Isak’s goal to make it 2-1 but the hosts fought back to earn a point via substitute Mohammed Kudus’ 89th minute strike.

And Gallagher admits the 25-year-old United midfielder was fortunate to stay on the pitch.

“Extremely lucky,” Gallagher told Sky Sports’ Ref Watch. “If he gets a second yellow card there, none of us is going to argue. I think he’s got really, really lucky.

“I watched this live and I thought the referee let the game flow. He played his part in making it a really good game to watch. Whether he felt that was just a foul and not breaking up a promising attack but it’s difficult to say anything other than you anticipate him going.”

Hammers boss David Moyes shared a similar view to Gallagher while Magpies’ head coach Eddie Howe thought a second yellow would have been incredibly harsh.

Gallagher believes referee Peter Banks’ reasoning for not sending Guimaraes off was perhaps impacted by the Diego Jota incident at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. The Liverpool man was shown two yellow cards less than a minute apart.

He said: “When something happens big time, you and a group of referees sit down and say ‘we’ve got to go back to basics’. And often, we maybe go back a step too far to protect ourselves and by protecting ourselves, you do a little bit more than you should. You got too far then later on you start to relieve yourself again.

“It’s a bit like when we play golf when you’re under pressure and your puts go short. That’s what happens. We just have this little look after ourselves and be a bit more secure.

“The second thing is really interesting. I always say all the clues are there and the clue is Guimaraes. He looks ‘what have I done? I should never have put myself in that position”