Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has revealed that Mike Dean told him he felt Isaac Hayden was nursing a back problem rather than a head injury when Liverpool scored their first goal last night.
Controversy at Anfield
Speaking to BT Sport, after Newcastle’s 3-1 loss to Liverpool, Howe was fuming with the manner which his side conceded in the first placed.
Newcastle had taken the lead through a brilliant strike by Jonjo Shelvey, but their advantage did not last long.
Liverpool equalised through Diogo Jota, but there was real controversy about the manner in which the goal went in.
Newcastle had two players down in the box, with Hayden clearly clutching his head.
And Howe has now revealed that Dean didn’t stop the game as he thought it was a back problem.
“I think he said to to me that Isaac had held his back. For me Isaac immediately held his head. He was dazed for four or five minutes after the game,” Howe said.
“It’s a dangerous moment where we have to think of the player’s safety, but not only that we have two players down in our box, and I don’t think we want to see games decided when you have players out of the game.”
The turning point?
Now, whether Newcastle would have picked up a more positive result if Liverpool’s first goal hadn’t been allowed is up for debate.
But it hardly helped them going away to Anfield and having their advantage ruled out in such controversial circumstances.
Liverpool may argue that Hayden carried on, so the play didn’t need to be stopped.
However, it was a big shock that Dean did choose to allow play to continue.
It wasn’t Dean’s only controversial moment of the night either, as he made a number of dubious decisions during the match.
Liverpool’s other goals were scored through Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold in an important victory.
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