Woltemade had put Newcastle ahead in the first half before Mikel Merino levelled the score with about five minutes remaining. Gabriel then scored the decisive goal to secure victory for the visitors. ..Continue Reading
However, the match might have taken a different turn following an incident shortly after Woltemade’s goal.
The German pressed the ball from kick-off, and Gabriel was seen pushing him in the face—an act that went unpunished by referee Jarred Gillett.
Now, the ex-Stuttgart striker has shared his perspective. “After the goal, there was a situation,” he told Sky Sports.
“I felt his elbow in my face so his arm has to be really high and I don’t want to fall down. I just said it to the referee, I felt something in my face and I think it’s not right to feel something in your face, but I’m not the type of player who will fall down for this.
“It’s hard because I guess sometimes maybe you have to do it, but this is not my type of football and I don’t like it. He said sorry after, so I think he knew that he hit me in my face.”
Commenting on the clash, Newcastle icon Les Ferdinand said: “The question I’d ask, if he had gone down, he said, I don’t want to go down, but had he gone down, they’d have reviewed it.
“If they had reviewed it, I want to know what the outcome would have been. He’s smashed him straight in his face.
“Whatever way you look at it, he’s really lucky and if he does, if he goes down holding his face, they review it. Any blow to the face is a sending off.”
Leave a Reply