What Mark Clattenburg really thought about controversial penalty in Newcastle's 5-0 win last night

Newcastle United celebrated a thumping 5-0 victory last night to take us to six wins on the bounce including the cup final, but things quite easily could have gone a different way.

Crystal Palace were awarded a controversial penalty after referee Darren England was sent to the monitor for a lengthy VAR check where he deemed Nick Pope to have fouled Chris Richards.

Thankfully Eberechi Eze's tame effort rolled straight at Pope who saved comfortably and we were able to quickly turn things around as less than two minutes later Marc Guehi turned it into his own net to give us a 2-0 lead.

Clattenburg was 'surprised' to see a penalty awarded

With the quality the team showed last night there's little doubt that Newcastle wouldn't have gone on to win the game regardless of if the penalty had been scored, but the length of time it took to come to what was not an obvious decision is making a mockery of the sport.

Former Premier League referee and Newcastle fan Mark Clattenburg was even shocked to see that VAR had recommended a review and that Darren England overturned the on-field decision.

Far too often we're seeing games being micromanaged by VAR and not only taking the flow out of the game but leaving the supporters in the ground in darkness as to what is actually going on.

As Clattenburg says in an interview with Geordie Boot Boys, decisions like these should be left in the hands of the on-field referee and not replayed 30 or 40 times in slow motion.

Here's what Clattenburg said on the decision:

“I was very surprised like many people that a penalty was awarded for a challenge by Pope on Richards.

“Pope comes a long way to challenge for the ball and does not make any contact with the ball. There are other players challenging for the same ball.

“This type of challenge does not usually result in a penalty and I was very surprised the VAR deemed this a clear and obvious error of the referee.

“This is a decision that should stay on the field of play and not result in a slow-motion replay.”

Newcastle thrive in the face of adversity

Newcastle as a team often play with greater intensity and drive when a controversial decision has just gone against us, and we saw the perfect example of that last night as Barnes raced down the other end of the pitch to double the lead.

Similarly, the St James' Park crowd is sure to let the team and the referee know what they thought about the decision, and it's clear to see the players use that energy to push themselves on.

Some of the best football we have played in the last few years when things haven't gone our way or we've been underestimated by the opposition or media, something Eddie Howe has instilled in the team, and long may it continue.