Newcastle United will agree with what Simon Jordan just said

Newcastle United were dealt late heartbreak in the Champions League during the dying moments of their hard fought 1-1 draw against French champions Paris Saint-Germain. The likes of Nick Pope, Alexander Isak, Tino Livramento, teenager Lewis Miley and many others all enjoyed memorable individual performances during the night at the Parc des Princes.

But the post match headlines have been dominated by the controversial decision to award Kylian Mbappe’s 98th minute penalty equaliser which now leaves Newcastle’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages out of their hands. PSG's penalty was awarded under controversial circumstances after Ousmane Dembele's pass hit Tino Livramento's chest and onto his elbow. 

Referee Szymon Marciniak initially waved PSG's appeals away before a VAR check prompted a controversial overturn that appeared to go against UEFA guidelines set out last season. A UEFA statement from April 2023 read: "In their guidelines for next season, the Board recommends that UEFA should clarify that no handball offence should be called on a player if the ball is previously deflected from his own body and, in particular, when the ball does not go toward the goal."

The decision has once again put VAR in the spotlight and is currently the talk of the town on social media with many footballing experts. The topic of the penalty took centre stage at the talkSPORT studios this morning as former Crystal Palace pundit Simon Jordan and ex-Liverpool footballer Danny Murphy slammed the decision. Jordan praised Newcastle’s performance and claimed the club are right to feel hard done by.

He said: “I think an away performance where you defend valiantly and your goalkeeper does his job, because goalkeepers aren't put in there to put the ball in the back of the net, their job is to make saves. Peter Shilton was perhaps the reason Nottingham Forest kicked on to win the European Cup, so with that in mind I don't think Newcastle were riding their luck.

"I think they defended valiantly. PSG were playing at home with the wind behind them. I think Newcastle put in a very commendable away performance which might be categorised as a smash and grab but that happens in away performances when you're playing against potentially more experienced opposition.

"I think that they would have deserved and been very good value for a very, very valiant and deep seated performance of integrity and character to overcome the odds. I thought PSG would right the wrongs. I thought PSG would look at what happened to them at St. James' Park and go to them and say 'have some of this you little minnows'. And they didn't. Newcastle were good value for a very defensively minded 1-0 win.”

Murphy added that it was Newcastle’s best away performance in Europe so far after a 0-0 draw with AC Milan and a 2-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund. VAR has taken the headlines for the awarding of the late penalty, but Jordan claims the blame lies solely with the referee rather than the technology.

Explaining his viewpoint, he said: "So I look at it from that point of view, as far as the penalty is concerned, you can't make this argument about VAR. You have to make this about on field refereeing decisions. Because irrespective of whether VAR decides to put its nose in it, the referee still has the casting vote. He still has the ability to say I know what's in my mind, I know what the rules of the game are, I know what deliberate handball looks like, I know what proximity looks like. That's not really in the spirit of any of those so it really isn't a penalty. You can't bring VAR into this conversation, it has to be the referee and the referee alone."

Newcastle’s Champions League fate is now out of their hands. The Magpies need a win in their next match against AC Milan to have any chance of qualifying and will also need Borussia Dortmund to avoid defeat against PSG. Eddie Howe’s men will drop into the Europa League if they avoid a defeat against AC Milan, while a defeat will see them exit Europe all together.