Mark Clattenburg offers verdict on Newcastle v Wolves controversy

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Newcastle United felt aggrieved after their 2-1 defeat to Wolves.

Newcastle United were left fuming after their 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers – but ex-Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg believes the right decisions were made.

Wolves took the lead through Diogo Jota in the first half, before Ayoze Perez headed home Salomon Rondon’s cross to equalise before the break.

DeAndre Yedlin was then sent off for Newcastle when he hauled down Joata on his way to goal, but Newcastle fans were unhappy when Wolves defender Willy Boly appeared to elbow Perez.

It was made even worse when Wolves managed to snatch a 94^th minute winner, with Matt Doherty swooping in to head the winner after Martin Dubravka saved Jota’s effort.

After the game, Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez was fuming, and demanded that VAR be brought into the Premier League immediately as the Magpies were hard done to on Sunday evening.

Now, ex-Premier League referee Clattenburg – a Newcastle fan – has had his say on matters, and actually defended referee Mike Dean for his decisions.

Clattenburg has told the Daily Mail that Dean got both decisions right, suggesting that Jamaal Lascelles wouldn’t have stopped Jota on his way to goal for the Yedlin red card, and that Boly’s elbow was merely accidental.

“Newcastle fans will feel aggrieved that Mike Dean sent off DeAndre Yedlin and did not punish Wolves’ Willy Boly for an elbow but he got both big calls right,” said Clattenburg. “Yedlin could not recover after mis-hitting a pass and pulled down Diogo Jota as he raced towards the penalty area. In these situations, referees will have a picture in their mind of the moment that the foul takes place.”

“Dean will have seen that Jamaal Lascelles would not have made it back in time to cover so Yedlin had denied a clear goalscoring opportunity. Late in the second half, Boly caught Ayoze Perez in the face with his arm as he jumped for a header. It was not a deliberate attempt to elbow the striker. Boly was jumping naturally for the ball and Dean — who had a clear view of the incident — was right not to punish the defender,” he added.