Keith Stroud punished following shock error at St. James' last night

Following last night's horror show at St. James' Park, referee Keith Stroud has been stripped of his duties for his scheduled League One fixture between Gillingham and Millwall this weekend.

This comes after a shocking refereeing incident last night in Newcastle's 1-0 home win over Burton.

Stroud awarded United a first-half penalty, which Matt Ritchie converted, only for the referee and his officials to not only disallow the goal, but give a free kick to Burton, offering no re-take.

The incident sparked chaos within St. James' Park, with officials and players furiously remonstrating with the 4th official and his counterparts to help them see sense, but their protests were wrongfully ignored.

Dwight Gayle was guilty of encroachment as the penalty was struck, however the rules state that the penalty should have therefore been retaken. In the moments following the full time whistle, the following statement was released, confirming that Stroud and his officials got it wrong and were left 'upset' about their 'lapse in concentration':

https://twitter.com/SkySports_Keith/status/849732138484322304

None of the 4 officials involved in last night's game will work this weekend, with Keith Stroud, Matthew McGrath, David Avent & Tony Harrington all stripped of their duties following what could've been a costly error for the club.

Stroud, who endured no end of abuse last night, is said to be distraught with his error, which I must say was unlike anything I've ever witnessed on a football field before.

Mistakes happen, but the big issue for me was he and his team's refusal to acknowledge those who KNEW they got it wrong. He made a big mistake in failing to adhere to FA rules but perhaps an even bigger one in failing to then rectify his clear error.

Let's just be thankful this injustice didn't go on to cost us!