Newcastle vs Southampton: Specsavers wade in on Joelinton VAR controversy with hilarious 8-word quip

Eyesight company Specsavers couldn't resist the temptation to crack a joke after Newcastle United midfielder Joelinton saw a goal disallowed shortly before halftime.

The Brazilian did go on to find the back of the net and have it stand, with his 73rd-minute goal the only one as the Magpies beat Southampton 1-0 in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.

Once finished celebrating the win, Joelinton no doubt felt aggrieved at not travelling back to the North East with a brace to his name. The referee disallowed his first-half goal for handball, but the angles of the moment all seem to point to the ball hitting the player's chest rather than his arm.

Chiming in on the incident, Specsavers saw the perfect opportunity to crack a joke at referee Stuart Attwell's expense. The opticians joked that they had a new eye test and added a short eight-word explanation of what it might involve.

A Tweet read: "New eye test: spot the difference between Joelinton’s arm and chest."

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The disallowed goal has been a talking topic for fans and pundits alike since the match, with former Newcastle shot-stopper Shay Given having a go at explaining what happened on Sky Sports.

He said: "I’m not sure. I understand [the referee sees it from a certain angle], and the ref says he thinks it’s a handball, but then VAR - which we said before tonight we have VAR and we have it for a reason - and that angle proves it comes off his hip or his stomach. It’s a legitimate goal.

"It’s hit his hip and it’s bounced up and he’s put it into the net. That’s simple, if VAR still sees that and thinks it’s a handball then I don’t know what he’s looking at.

"But look, it is a difficult job for the referee. The angle he’s at he maybe thinks it’s a handball, but there’s no reason why the VAR can’t get in his ear and go ‘It’ll only take 30, maybe 60 seconds, just have a look at this angle Stuart because you might have got this wrong.’ They should get that right between them - it’s not a handball, it should be a goal."