Brazilian midfielder Joelinton did a very reckless tackle on Ghana’s Kudus Mohammed and former English referee Mark Clattenburg feels it should have been a red card for the former as he was completely not going for the ball.
This incident occurred in Newcastle United’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at the St James’ Park last Wednesday evening in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
Two goals in each half from defender Fabian Schär and red-hot striker Nick Woltemade were enough to send the Magpies to the quarter-final of the competition.
However, the talking point after the game has to do with an incident that happened in the 85th minute when Joelinton went in with a harsh scissors tackle on Kudus Mohammed after he had picked up a ball from the right flanks and racing into the opposition half.
Tempers flared afterwards and it broke into a little fight between the two sides but eventually referee Chris Kavanagh rushed to the scene to calm things down and subsequently showed a yellow card to the two players.
Speaking after the game, Clattenburg disagreed with the punishment as he feels Joelinton should have been sent off and shouldn’t have been penalized the same way Kudus Mohammed was.
“It does not feel fair that Joelinton, for his challenge, was given the same punishment as Mohammed Kudus. Joelinton’s challenge was certainly reckless and was a scissor action which tripped his opponent," he told TR Football.
“To meet the criteria of a red card, however, there needs to be some force and malice used which this challenge lacked and therefore did not endanger the safety of his opponent. Nevertheless, it does not feel right that Kudus received the same punishment after being on the end of that tackle.”
Newcastle United after the win will now face Fulham in the final eight of the EFL Cup.
