It has now been confirmed who will be the referee when Newcastle United face Burnley on Saturday.
The Magpies travel to Turf Moor for a traditional 3pm kickoff, aiming to do something they have not done much this season – win away from St James’ Park.
Newcastle United have been poor on the road, and must turn their form around if they are to finish in the top six. That is certainly more than attainable, but the prospect of three of our final four games being away from home is daunting.
It will be even more daunting if Fabian Schar is unavailable. The 32-year-old picked up a hamstring problem during the win over Sheffield United, and was not spotted in the club’s training photos this week.
Hopefully he is fit to feature, while Newcastle could be boosted by the return of Miguel Almiron, who has returned to training after a knee injury.
Who will referee Burnley vs Newcastle United
It could be a tough away day for a Newcastle United side that has only recorded four Premier League wins this season on the road.
One of those came at the City Ground against Nottingham Forest, with Eddie Howe’s side winning 3-2 thanks to a Bruno Guimaraes masterclass.
The man in the middle that day was Anthony Taylor, and he will also be in charge of Saturday’s clash with Burnley.
It comes after he refereed the Champions League semi final between Borussia Dortmund and PSG, while it will be the fourth time that Taylor has officiated a Newcastle United game this season.
Anthony Taylor involved in a few controversial Newcastle moments this season
While Taylor avoided the headlines on that night in Nottingham, he was in the spotlight during his other two Newcastle United appearances.
His first came at Molineux, where it ended in a 2-2 draw. Callum Wilson scored a brace, with one of his goals coming from the spot. Taylor gave a penalty when Schar went down in the area, but replays showed that it was an incredibly soft decision.
But VAR did not instruct Taylor to overturn his call, and the penalty stood. Newcastle got a huge slice of luck, as they headed back to Tyneside with a point.
The Magpies were not quite as lucky on their next meeting with Taylor. He was the man in the middle for the New Year’s Day contest at Anfield, which Liverpool won 4-2.
Eddie Howe’s side were not good enough on the night, but were also on the end of a few dodgy decision. Two penalties went against them, with the second proving to be massively controversial. Diogo Jota rounded Martin Dubravka late in the game, only to hit the deck rather than put the ball into an empty net.
Alan Shearer was not happy
The Liverpool forward conned the ref, with Taylor pointing to the spot. It was a crazy decision, and one that enraged Toon legend Alan Shearer in the aftermath.
“That’s as clear a dive as you will ever see,” he said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
“What was it, three paces after a tiny piece of contact? He could have got the ball, stayed on his feet and tapped it in! I was amazed that VAR could look at that and both him and whoever his assistant VAR could look at that and think that’s okay, he hasn’t dived. I mean goodness me. Do me a favour.”
The decision shocked Shearer, who aimed most of his anger towards Jota rather than Taylor. The referee got tricked, and did not receive the help he needed from VAR, on a night when Newcastle did not deserve anything. Regardless, it was an infuriating end to a tough 90 minutes.
Now Taylor gets ready to take charge of his fourth Newcastle United game this season, and he will hope to be out of the headlines.
The post 'I was amazed': Referee who enraged Alan Shearer in January to take charge of Burnley vs Newcastle appeared first on Geordie Boot Boys.