Szymon Marciniak’s decision to award a penalty to PSG in the very last moments of the match went badly for the Magpies.
Two months after crushing PSG at Saint-James’Park (4-1), Newcastle almost taught the French champions a new lesson. This time efficiency. Because Luis Enrique’s troops may have dominated the debates and created numerous opportunities, the Magpies were very close to winning at the Parc des Princes. Well helped by a new ball from Gianluigi Donnarumma, the English actually led until the last moments of added time.
But that was without counting on Szymon Marciniak, who in fact decided to grant a penalty to PSG after an unobvious hand from Tino Livramento, the ball having hit the stomach of the English defender before bouncing on his arm. However, the Polish referee did not did not hesitate to designate the penalty spot after viewing the images. Enough to provoke the anger of the English camp.
“I think the referee didn’t make the right decision. You have to take certain things into account at this point, firstly the speed, which is not the same as slow motion. I think the hand goes in the direction of a natural movement of the body. It’s frustrating, but that’s how it is, there’s nothing we can do about it. I need to control myself”said Eddie Howe at the end of the meeting, the English technician having difficulty containing himself.
“I am especially disappointed for the players after what they did and disappointed with what this decision does to the group,” he added before emphasizing the performance of his troops: “Once the emotion has passed, we will look at the positives of this meeting. It’s a huge performance from the team. We are still in the competition, we will continue to fight. We have to look at that first, because it could have been different. We are in the group of death, few people gave us a chance in the draw. It’s also a time to be positive. When some players return from injury, we will have a competitive team in all competitions. »
