Eddie Howe is disappointed his Newcastle United players did not receive more praise for their win over Arsenal last weekend with much of the post-match talk focusing on VAR.
The Magpies’ 1-0 triumph came courtesy of a hugely controversial Anthony Gordon goal that was subject to three separate VAR checks before being awarded.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta described the VAR decision as “an absolute disgrace” in a passionate post-match rant but Howe felt that, and the subsequent fall-out, took away from his team’s efforts.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Bournemouth, he said: “There have been real benefits of VAR, there are aspects of it that work.
“My big thing is that when a game ends, it should be about the players, the game, the football and what we’ve seen. It shouldn’t be about VAR, that’s very dangerous.
“We beat Arsenal and played very well [but] there was very little reaction on how well the team played or how well individuals played. It was all about one refereeing decision and that’s sad.”
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Howe doesn’t think things will change with regards VAR in the immediate future.
“I don’t think VAR will be going anywhere,” he added. “Once the technology is in it is about trying to get it to work in the best way. I was reluctant to VAR initially coming in, I was more in favour of letting the referee have the power to make decisions. One of my big things is when players score you risk that instant high of scoring and celebrating getting taken away and that sits uncomfortably with me.”
Eddie Howe on Callum Wilson:
“Callum has a tight hamstring. We are doing various tests on him, we will see how he does this morning before making a decision on the game. Other than that, we have no fresh injuries from the other night.” pic.twitter.com/uuBVkEOKIh
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) November 10, 2023
Newcastle, who were beaten 2-0 by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League in midweek, will be without 10 players for the trip to Bournemouth with England striker Callum Wilson facing a late fitness test.
Howe said: “The big thing is that I back the players and the squad. The biggest challenge is in-game running. My options are restricted which will have the biggest impact on us at the moment.
“I can’t credit the players who are fit and available enough. The way they have attacked the games.
“The thing from Dortmund to take is that if we would have played to our very maximum levels we could have won that game but we didn’t. We got to take control of that ourselves and not look external.”
