Alan Shearer has described Anthony Gordon’s red card against Brighton & Hove Albion as ‘crazy’ and ‘stupid’, with the Newcastle United winger now poised to miss the Carabao Cup final.
The Magpies face Liverpool at Wembley next week and will be without one of their star men, unless they can get the red card decision overturned. Gary Linker claimed Newcastle has ‘no chance in hell’ of lodging a successful appeal as the fallout from the contentious moment continues.
Gordon struck Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke in the face in the latter stages of the 2-1 FA Cup defeat at St James’ Park on Sunday, earning an immediate red card that was also upheld after a VAR review. An appeal seems unlikely due to the nature of the push/hit and a three-match domestic ban across all competitions is likely to be administered.
“First and foremost, Anthony Gordon, what have you done? He must be sitting there after the game – all last night I bet he didn’t sleep last night,” Lineker said on The Rest is Football podcast .
“He’s got himself a three-game ban, he’ll miss now the Carabao Cup. Eddie Howe said after the game ‘we’re going to have a look at it and if we think we can appeal we will’, but I don’t think there’s a chance in hell. It’s a real shame in a moment of utter madness.”
Shearer, Newcastle’s record goalscorer, offered a similar opinion: “Crazy. Even if they decide to appeal, they’ve got no chance of winning it because it was a clear red card. I haven’t got a clue what he’s doing.
“I know you get drawn into the moment of the game and all that but it has to be in your mind, thinking, you actually should know that anything stupid, then you’re in danger of missing the Carabao Cup final.
“And I just think that’s a massive blow for Newcastle. A stupid thing to do and not only has he cost his team yesterday, he could cost his team in the Carabao because he’s one of Newcastle’s big-hitters and he’s having a very, very good season.”
Gordon, the former Everton youth graduate and boyhood Liverpool fan, is one of Howe’s most important players and has missed just one league match all season, starting 25 of the 27 games. He also netted in both legs of the Carabao Cup semi-final win over Arsenal and has provided nine goals and six assists in all competitions this term.
