Fans thought Darren England was on VAR duty at St James' Park following a couple of goal review wobbles during Newcastle's clash with PSG in the Champions League.
The Magpies recorded their biggest ever win in the competition by smashing Kylian Mbappe and co 4-1, with goals from Miguel Almiron, Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff and Fabian Schar putting the Ligue 1 giants to the sword on a night no Newcastle supporter will never forget. Almiron put the home side in front after 17 minutes and Burn added a second just before half-time, though it took an age for the goal to be confirmed.
The gigantic defender powered a header into the net from close-range, though his strike was initially ruled out for offside. VAR then reviewed the goal for a whopping three minutes, leaving everyone inside the ground itching for an answer.
READ MORE: St James' Park erupts as pumped up Newcastle pounce on shambolic PSG defence
READ MORE: PGMOL's blunder refs Darren England and Dan Cook binned from second job after Prem axe
During the wait, one X (formerly Twitter) user posted: "Is Darren England on VAR in the Newcastle game or something what on Earth is going on?" Another wrote: "This review is taking ages. Is that you Darren England?"
The reason for the wait was that the officials were checking several incidents during the phase of play leading up to the goal including a potential offside, a potential hand-ball and whether or not the ball had gone out of play as it was crossed into Burn. Eventually, the referee pointed to the centre circle to signal for a goal, as 50,000 Toon fans erupted.
How far can Newcastle go in the Champions League? Let us know in the comments section below.
Further questions were raised about VAR in the second half when PSG pulled a goal back to make it 3-1. Lucas Hernandez glanced a header from a deft Warren Zaire-Emery cross past Nick Pope, but replays appeared to show the French defender standing half-a-yard offside when the pass was made.
TNT is the only place you can watch all the action from the Champions League this year. You can see every game from the group stage right through to the final as Manchester City look to defend their crown as the newest kings of the World's biggest and best football tournament.
£29.99 a month
But after a short VAR check the goal was given, baffling viewers. In actual fact, footage from the broadcast was stopped just after the cross was hit, and a second look at another angle a few minutes later confirmed that Hernandez was in fact onside.
Nevertheless, fans started pointing the finger at England again. Just as PSG's goal was awarded, one X user joked: "Darren England at it again I see". The tie was then settled by Fabian Schar, who curled a stunning shot from outside the box around Donnarumma's outstretched arm to restore Newcastle's three-goal lead with just a few minutes to go, and cap off one incredible night under the lights at St James'.
Source: Read Full Article