A personal view is the general standard of English refereeing is OK and we should do without VAR. But to paraphrase Clement Attlee, a period of silence on my part would be welcome. So I’ll keep quiet. It was impossible not to join the masses who spend their lives outraged by officials, at this game. Where to start? With Tammy Abraham putting Aston Villa ahead from a so-clearly offside position? Or Lucas Digne being shown only a yellow card for a late, high and nowhere-near-the-ball tackle that seemed a likely red?
Or, most confounding of all, Digne being penalised for a handball a good two yards inside Villa’s box and yet Chris Kavanagh, the referee, deeming the offence a good yard outside it. That decision was mind-boggling; embarrassing, frankly. The kind an official doesn’t live down. Almost Graham Poll and his three yellow cards for the same player (Josip Simunic at the 2006 World Cup) territory.
When Kieran Trippier crossed, Digne leapt, while turning his back and raising his arms, and the ball hit him on the elbow with Kavanagh well positioned to see Villa’s captain was very definitely inside his area.
When Kavanagh then marched over, arm signalling a free kick, and spray-painted his little line for where it should be taken well outside the box, all Trippier could do was laugh. It’s all any of us could do. Kavanagh is a respected operator, one of only three Englishmen on the elite list of Uefa referees, but mentally he looked gone and maybe the biggest takeaway is that VAR has become so ingrained as a safety net that even the best have forgotten how to officiate without it.
Bizot, the Villa goalkeeper, was sent off just before half time for this challenge on Murphy
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That three such incredible errors went against Newcastle risked causing an almighty controversy had the result gone against them too. As it was, Kavanagh can give thanks to the professionalism of Eddie Howe’s players and, in particular, Sandro Tonali.
Marco Bizot’s red card (the one big decision the officials got right) in first-half stoppage time gave Newcastle a numerical advantage throughout the second period and Tonali was at the centre of their drive to make it count. He won tackles, duels, possessions, made ten passes into the final third and became the first Newcastle player in ten years to score two goals in a game from outside the box. He’s a Ferrari. No matter — with Bruno Guimarães out — Howe purred about him afterwards.
Tonali’s first was Newcastle’s equaliser and stemmed from the free kick bizarrely awarded for Digne’s handball. Emi Martínez flapped the ball out and Tonali drove a shot that struck Douglas Luiz and cannoned past Martínez. Thirteen minutes later Dan Burn touched the ball back for Tonali, who from 20 yards whistled a shot of laser accuracy into Martínez’s bottom corner.
Newcastle haven’t won this competition since the 1950s but looked contenders here, and their supporters, who sang for Kevin Keegan on his 75th birthday, were in full party mode when, in the 88th minute, Nick Woltemade sealed their passage to the fifth round.
Abraham opens the scoring with his first goal for Villa since rejoining the club last month. It looked as if he was offside but VAR was not in use for this round of the FA Cup
PETER CZIBORRA/ACTION IMAGES VIA REUTERS
Lamare Bogarde did well to intercept the ball and then really badly to give it away with a careless pass. Emi Buendía challenged Joe Willock on the edge of the box and it spun to Woltemade who, having had a useful game in midfield, returned to striker mode to caress a shot high into Martínez’s net.
Howe was generous towards Kavanagh and his team. “Officials don’t make any [bad] decision on purpose,” he said, “but without VAR there were a lot of errors today.” He admitted he might have been less philosophical had his team not got the victory they deserved.
“I can’t imagine how I’d have felt,” he said. “I’m so torn on VAR. I think the game is better without it but it does give accurate results and when it does, in those moments you have to respect they’re worth their weight in gold.” Unai Emery was more matter-of-fact: “My takeaway is VAR is necessary to help the referees.”
VAR certainly didn’t feel necessary last weekend when the technology allowed joyless pedantry to reign, with that disallowed Rayan Cherki goal, but it’s not just Howe — the whole game seems torn. Take the FA Cup. VAR is used from the fifth round but not before, meaning the application of the laws changes halfway through.
The Villa goal? At a 14th-minute free kick, with Newcastle expecting Morgan Rogers to shoot, Luiz suddenly stepped up to the ball and chipped it over their defensive line. Abraham chested and crafted a lovely finish to squeeze the ball over Aaron Ramsdale. The problem was that he was beyond the deepest defender by a foot.
After Newcastle were denied a penalty, Tonali equalised moments later with a deflected effort …
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… before putting his side ahead on 76 minutes with an effort from outside the penalty area
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Yet Nick Greenhalgh, the linesman, somehow missed it and Howe yelled: “Offside!” while Emery grinned, delighted a training-ground set-piece routine had borne such fruit.
With Thomas Tuchel watching on, Abraham looked sharp and — until he tired — Ross Barkley rolled back the years, playing as a No 10 in his first Villa start for 13 months. But the best England-qualified players not yet used by Tuchel were Harvey Barnes and Trippier, who of course has retired from internationals.
Woltemade made sure of the win by scoring on his 24th birthday
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Digne’s tackle? He arrived late and high, catching Jacob Murphy halfway up his shin with the ball nowhere near but Kavanagh brandished merely a yellow card, presumably because Digne’s other leg was grounded, meaning there was an argument for saying the challenge was not reckless. A video review would have surely disabused Kavanagh of such notions.
The Bizot decision was straightforward. Villa were still committed forward from a set piece when Bailey slipped and mis-hit a cross. Trippier threaded a superb pass forward to Murphy and suddenly Newcastle were breaking into Villa’s half with a three on one in their favour.
Bizot ploughed into Murphy, catching him on the knee and the only debate was whether the red card was for violent conduct or denying a scoring opportunity.
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): M Bizot — L Bogarde, V Lindelof, P Torres, L Digne — A Onana, D Luiz (J Sancho 78min) — L Bailey (E Martínez 45+4), R Barkley (E Buendía 65), M Rogers (I Maatsen 79) — T Abraham (O Watkins 65). Booked Luiz, Digne. Sent off Bizot.
Newcastle United (4-2-3-1): A Ramsdale — K Trippier (A Murphy 90), M Thiaw, D Burn, L Hall — J Ramsey (J Willock 80), S Tonali — J Murphy (A Elanga 63), N Woltemade, H Barnes — W Osula (A Gordon 63). Booked Thiaw, Barnes, Ramsey.
Referee C Kavanagh.