It was a stonewall red card.
Gary Lineker believes that Nick Pope should be allowed to play in the Carabao Cup final despite being sent off in Newcastle’s defeat to Liverpool.
Pope was given his marching orders after he clearly handled the ball after rushing off his line to beat Mohamed Salah to a 50/50 challenge.
His red card now means he will miss Sunday’s Carabao Cup final showdown against Manchester United. With second-choice goalkeeper, Martin Dubravka cup-tied, it’s likely that Loris Karius will be in-between the sticks for his first appearance since joining the club.
Although the England international can certainly have no complaints about being sent off, he does have some right to be aggrieved by being ruled out of the final.
Had his teammate Joelinton been booked in the same game, he’d have been forced to miss two games – due to picking up his 10th yellow of the season – but none of those would have included the Carabao Cup final.
This is because the rules state that bans for an accumulation of yellow cards only apply to Premier League fixtures whereas reds count towards all competitions domestically.
"Come onnnn, let Nick Pope play!"
Watch #MOTD: https://t.co/RgQBOCOiYY @GaryLineker @alanshearer pic.twitter.com/Kx6rvntMwP
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) February 18, 2023
Speaking about the suspension on Match of the Day, Lineker highlighted the flaw with the rulings.
“Wasn’t Joelinton on nine yellows?” the presenter said. “If he’d have got another yellow he would have missed two games but not the Carabao Cup final.
“That’s an anomaly. Why is that? Come on! Let him play in the cup final. He’s been brilliant this season. Let him play, let him play. Go on, it will be nice, wouldn’t it. It’s the right thing to do.”
Newcastle are looking to win their first major honour since 1995 and the loss of Pope has left Alan Shearer fearing the worst.
He said: “It’s a big blow for Newcastle. A huge blow actually for Nick Pope and Newcastle because he’s been superb this season
“I do feel for him because that’s the only error he’s made.”
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