Anthony Gordon is set to miss his second Carabao Cup final for Newcastle United.
Gordon scored in both legs of Newcastle’s 4-0 aggregate semi-final win over Arsenal to put Newcastle through to the final at Wembley Stadium against Liverpool on March 16. But the 24-year-old’s red card in The Magpies’ 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday will see him suspended for the next three games.
Gordon will miss Newcastle’s upcoming Premier League matches against West Ham United and Brentford as well as the Liverpool cup final between those. It means, for the second time, Gordon has been ruled out of the Carabao Cup final for Newcastle.
The winger was cup-tied when Newcastle reached the Carabao Cup final back in 2023 having represented Everton in an earlier round of the competition before his £45million move to St James’ Park in January. Gordon started a 4-1 defeat at Bournemouth for Everton in a game that ultimately denied him the chance of playing at Wembley for Newcastle.
“I was devastated last time,” Gordon admitted after beating Arsenal in the first leg. “I played in a stupid cup game just before I came [to Newcastle].
“I had a broken hand, I just remember thinking ‘why did I play in that game’? I travelled down [to Wembley in 2023], unfortunately, we lost but what an experience!
“Hopefully I get to be part of it this time but that’s up to us, we’ve got a good advantage but we’re facing a top team so it could change really quickly. It’s totally in our hands now.”
While Newcastle got the job done with Gordon’s help in the second leg, his wishes of being part of the cup final this time appear to be all but over. Newcastle have considered appealing the red card though FA guidance suggests their chance of a successful appeal are slim.
Eddie Howe on Anthony Gordon’s red card v Brighton
Gordon was shown a straight red card for pushing Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke in the head. Referee Anthony Taylor had already stopped play before the incident but quickly brandished the red card to give Gordon his marching orders.
“I don’t know what Anthony’s intention was,” Howe said. “I’m sure it wasn’t to harm or to possibly get the red card.
“In that moment, I don’t know quite what’s happened, but I need to review it properly before forming my opinion.
“I wasn’t aware [that he would miss the final] initially. I was so absorbed in the game that my focus was on trying to win the game.”
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“Of course, if that is the case, I’m desperately disappointed for him and for the team. But I think at the moment I can only concentrate on [the Brighton] game and trying to pick the players up after that.
“I haven’t seen an issue with [Gordon’s] discipline or his emotions necessarily in the game in that way. I don’t see angry outbursts from him. He plays hard, I want him to play hard, I want him to be competitive, but I don’t see an issue there.
“So at this moment, I think he’ll be very out of context with how he is generally. Maybe a bit of frustration in the game that things weren’t going our way, but I’d say that’s not a common s
ight for me when Anthony plays.”
