Yesterday, the Premier League announced their referee appointments for this weekend’s round of fixtures, including Newcastle vs Brighton.
Martin Atkinson has been chosen to officiate the clash at St James’ Park, and in our view, the Newcastle fans will be feeling worried.
Why will Newcastle fans worry?
Well, the last time Atkinson oversaw a game involving Newcastle was back in December, when Manchester City thrashed the Magpies on Tyneside.
The game finished 4-0, although there was a bizarre decision which made the 50-year-old public enemy No.1 among the Toon Army for a brief period.
At one stage of the game, Ryan Fraser was intensely pressing Joao Cancelo as he ran back towards his own goal, seemingly going nowhere with a chance he could lose the ball.
However, Ederson then clattered into Fraser inside the box, putting an end to the Scot’s hunt of Cancelo in an off-the-ball incident.
Incredibly, even after checking the VAR monitor, Atkinson didn’t see any wrongdoing, and Manchester City escaped.
Newcastle fans must bring their A-game against Brighton
Supporters have no control over ridiculous decisions like the one on Fraser, although the Toon Army will still have a big part to play on Saturday.
In a cauldron of noise, the players will be desperate to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to eight games.
Additionally, if St James’ Park is at its raucous best, Atkinson certainly won’t want to poke the hornets’ nest by making another unpopular decision.
Can Newcastle propel themselves closer to safety this Saturday? Only time will tell…
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