Jacob Ramsey’s red card in Newcastle United’s win over Manchester United has been defended despite Eddie Howe’s disagreement on the decision
09:49, 05 Mar 2026Updated 10:14, 05 Mar 2026
Jacob Ramsey was sent off for two yellow cards against Manchester United(Image: Getty Images)
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has backed Peter Bankes’ decision to send Newcastle United midfielder Jacob Ramsey off in Wednesday night’s win against Manchester United.
Ramsey was sent off in the first-half against United after being shown a second yellow card. The midfielder went down inside the box late in the first half when chasing the ball down near goalkeeper Senne Lammens.
Bankes awarded United a free-kick and gave Ramsey his second booking for diving. Newcastle went on to win the game 2-1, despite being down a man, thanks to William Osula’s dramatic winner.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, Gallagher explained why the referee got the call spot on. He said: “I back the referee because of the angle,” he said.
“Does he have to do that? Is he caught? No. He goes down so far after the incident has happened, and I don’t think he needs to. I would also suggest that if he hadn’t have got a yellow card for that, people would be screaming and saying we don’t want diving. So Peter Bankes has taken positive action, so back him.”
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Jay Bothroyd, who joined Gallagher on the show, was also in agreement with the referee, claiming Ramsey dived and was rightly sent off. He admitted: “I do think it is [a dive]. When you see Ramsey, he starts clutching at his leg like he’s been kicked and he hasn’t been touched. He’s looking for a penalty which means it’s a dive.”
Referee Peter Bankes took his time before showing Jacob Ramsey a red card(Image: Getty Images)
When asked about the referee’s decision, Eddie Howe admitted he disagreed with it: “I don’t think Jacob has gone down to simulate or mislead the referee in any way. He’s maybe anticipating contact and loses his footing. I think you have to be really careful before changing the game like the referee did.”
United’s goalkeeper Lammens conceded he believed that Bankes made the right decision. “I didn’t feel any contact,” he said. “I don’t think it was a foul. He was looking for the contact, I was holding myself in, and I think the ref made the right decision.”
Alan Shearer also waded in on the incident, taking aim at Bankes for his decision. Taking to X in the immediate aftermath of his side’s win, Shearer wrote: “Great win for the Toon with 10 men and deserved. Not sure who was worse. The Ref or Man Utd. #bothhopeless.”
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