The EFL were forced to release a statement after Newcastle United thought they opened the scoring during tonight’s Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg against Arsenal. The Magpies, who had a 2-0 advantage following the first-leg at the Emirates, had the ball in the net in the fourth minute.
Anthony Gordon’s fine pass found Alexander Isak through on goal and the Swede, like he has been doing all season, kept his cool and slotted the ball home. It was a fine finish from Isak, who slammed the ball beyond David Raya and sent St James’ Park wild.
However, Newcastle’s celebrations were cut short after a lengthy VAR check. Simon Hooper revealed to the supporters inside the stadium that Isak was offside in the build-up. Replays showed that Isak’s shoulder strayed beyond the last defender.
Hooper said: “After review, the goalscorer, Newcastle’s number 14, is in an offside position. The restart is indirect free-kick for offside.” This was just the second time in English football that a referee has spoken to the crowd, after referee Stuart Atwell did during Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Tottenham last month.
Gary Neville added: “It’s the first time I have seen that live. Who’d be a referee, my goodness. If you wanted to make referees more unpopular, let them announce a disallowed goal.”
Meanwhile, the EFL released a statement shortly after, saying: “Isak’s goal was initially awarded on-field. VAR checked and determined that he was in an offside position and recommended that the goal was disallowed.”
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