BBC Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer has broken down the circumstances behind Jhon Duran’s red card against Newcastle and explained why he thinks Anthony Taylor got it wrong
BBC Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer has broken down the circumstances behind Jhon Duran’s red card against Newcastle and explained why he thinks Anthony Taylor got it wrong
Alan Shearer has defended Jhon Duran after the Aston Villa striker was sent off against Newcastle
Alan Shearer has accused Anthony Taylor of ‘guessing’ following the referee’s decision to show a red card to Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran on Boxing Day.
The Colombian star, 21, saw red in Villa’s 3-0 loss to Newcastle after he appeared to accidentally stand on the back of Fabian Schar.
Taylor’s decision to dismiss Duran was subsequently backed by VAR, who looked into the incident before a statement explaining the reasons behind said call was released.
But speaking post-match on BBC Radio 5 Live, Shearer sympathised with Duran, saying that he felt the decision to send him off was a harsh one. And the Newcastle legend doubled down on Match of the Day, where he took aim at Taylor.
He said: “I think it’s a harsh decision. I think the referee guesses on the reaction of the players. When Duran plants his left foot, he twists his ankle when he puts it down, so automatically that pushes you to your left-hand side and he has to come back in so that’s why he stands on him. I think it is a harsh decision.
“Once they give it on the pitch, they weren’t going to overturn it. I just thought that he should have just slowed down and taken a bit more time. I thought it was a poor decision.”
Villa boss Unai Emery bemoaned the call in his post-match press conference, where he appeared to take a swipe at VAR over their failure to overrule the red card.
Join the debate! Do you think Duran should have been sent off? Let us know here
Duran saw red for standing on the back of Fabian Schar (Image:
Getty Images)
He said: “Always I am supporting VAR but you have to use VAR. Today the red card was clear for the referee straight away, he was the only person in the stadium who couldn’t take his time. He has to be intelligent to take time and get the right decision.
“In this case you have to use the VAR. He has to be smart, and calm. It has to be like that. The red card more or less kills the game, it changes it completely.”
Shearer’s fellow Match of the Day pundit, Joe Hart, was in agreement with the former Magpies striker over the call, adding: “I get what Emery is saying there, he’s not necessarily saying it’s the wrong decision, but to make such a knee-jerk reaction and send him off when you have the opportunity to look at it and have some understanding of why that has gone on, I’m with Alan.”
