Newcastle fans furious after Harry Maguire sees yellow for ‘punch’ on Dwight Gayle
Large sections of viewers of today’s clash between Leicester City and Newcastle United are insistent that Foxes’ stopper Harry Maguire should have seen red for an incident between he and Magpies’ striker Dwight Gayle.
Matchup
The two sides are currently locked in action at the King Power Stadium, with hosts Leicester having come into proceedings in 8th-place in the Premier League table.
Claude Puel’s men had picked up consecutive league wins over West Brom and Brighton in their last two outings, though they were also ousted from the FA Cup by Chelsea in between.
A positive recent spell of form for Newcastle, meanwhile, had seen Rafael Benitez’s men climb to 12th in the Premier League table, with the Magpies having picked up consecutive victories of their own in their last two league outings.
Teams
Today’s starting XI: Schmeichel, Simpson, Maguire, Morgan (c), Chilwell, Iborra, Silva, Diabaté, Albrighton, Mahrez, Vardy.
Subs: Jakupović, Dragović, Fuchs, Choudhury, Gray, Iheanacho, Okazaki. #LeiNew pic.twitter.com/AVNrYWEq8b
— Leicester City (@LCFC) April 7, 2018
TEAM NEWS: Here’s how Newcastle United will line up at @LCFC in the @premierleague this afternoon (kick-off 3pm BST).
Rafa Benítez has named the same side that defeated Huddersfield Town last Saturday. #NUFC pic.twitter.com/6j0ANLH2DH
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) April 7, 2018
Clash
An entertaining first-half at the King Power this afternoon saw visitors Newcastle head into the interval a goal to the good, after a Jonjo Shelvey strike in the 18th-minute.
However, aside from the solitary goal of the opening 45 minutes, there were also several major flashpoints, with the decision-making of referee Stuart Attwell having come under scrutiny online as a result.
While there was debate surrounding a possible penalty call after Paul Dummett’s rash challenge on Riyad Mahrez in the Leicester box, the main talking point of the first-half came after a scuffle between Harry Maguire and Dwight Gayle.
The former seemed to lash out at the Newcastle man, and while many claimed that Maguire was simply attempting to push Gayle, others, chiefly Newcastle fans, were insistent that the Leicester stopper had purposely ‘punched’ Gayle in the face:
Dwight Gayle’s just been punched in the face and Harry Maguire gets a YELLOW card.
What do we have to do to have a player sent off against us man? #NUFC
— Newcastle Stats (@NewcastleStats) April 7, 2018
#LeiNew John – commentator(whoever you are) how you have a job is beyond me my friend. Clear punch by ‘Englands’ Maguire.. any chance of an unbiased second half from you pal?! Let’s rip them apart second half to rub this Leicester fans face in it!
— Steven Brown (@Steve_Brown86) April 7, 2018
Disgraceful punch on Gale by Maguire – how the hell wasn’t it a red ???? A disgusting homer ref decision
— PhilK (@PhilK54413) April 7, 2018
Maguire must be allowed to punch people these days 🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️
— Lee Crammond (@Crammond3) April 7, 2018
Sorry like but Maguire has a closed fist there, that was a punch thrown.
— Brian (@ibaz99) April 7, 2018
Leicester vs Aston Villa: Charlie Austin’s next move
Defiant Allardyce speaks out over Rooney incident vs Liverpool: ‘I make the decisions’
