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Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe said his side were denied a "stonewall" penalty in their 2-2 draw with Chelsea - so, does he have a point?
Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah barged Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon to the ground inside the penalty area in the 53rd minute at St James' Park.
Howe and the home fans demanded a penalty but, following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review, the on-field decision not to award a penalty was upheld.
Newcastle led 2-1 at the time and the full-time whistle was met with boos following the perceived injustice, as the hosts had to settle for a point after losing a 2-0 lead.
Clarifying the decision, the Premier League Match Centre wrote on X: "The referee's call of no penalty to Newcastle was checked and confirmed by VAR - with the contact from Chalobah on Gordon deemed to be side-to-side in a shielding action and the ball within playing distance."
Howe, whose side have dropped a league-high 13 points from winning positions, said: "I thought it was stonewall penalty and the defender went into it with too much aggression.
"Anywhere else on the pitch, that's a free-kick. So I'm really disappointed that wasn't given."
Former Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given told BBC Sport: "Chalobah didn't play the ball and I felt it was more than just shoulder to shoulder.
"I felt at least the referee could have a look at it again. I think the wording from the match centre was it was shielding the ball out of play - but Chalobah definitely wasn't shielding anything and so, for me, Chelsea were lucky there."
Former Rangers striker Ally McCoist, speaking on TNT Sports, agreed with Howe's view that it was a "stonewall" penalty" and added he was "staggered" by the decision not to send on-field referee Andy Madley to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.
On whether Madley should have been allowed to review the incident, former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann explained to BBC Sport: "The VAR can only send the referee to the monitor if they are convinced a clear and obvious error has taken place. On this occasion, Peter Bankes felt that was not the case given the high bar for VAR intervention.
"Had a penalty been awarded on field, I also think that VAR would have stuck with that decision.
"I feel that it is a more comfortable 'check complete' once a penalty has been awarded on field, and a slightly more uncomfortable check complete if it hasn't been given."
Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin viewed Chalobah's challenge as "risky with bells on it" while commentating on BBC Radio 5 Live.
"Chalobah never got the ball, [it was] a shoulder challenge on Gordon [and] a big call for the referee to not give a penalty."
Former Premier League striker Peter Crouch, speaking on TNT Sports, said Chalobah was "lucky" after his "aggressive attempt" to win the ball, while former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole described the tackle as "overzealous".
Cann, who retired in April having overseen more than 1,000 professional matches, said: "At normal speed I can understand why the referee didn't award a penalty. Chalobah certainly takes a risk in making such a challenge because there's clear contact with Gordon.
"So the decision was right to be reviewed by VAR, who came to the conclusion that a clear and obvious error had not been made and stayed with the on-field decision of no penalty.
"I do think that had a penalty been given, I believe the VAR would have stuck with that decision too. So this comes down to 'referee's call'.
Cann added: "I think it would be a useful addition to the armoury of VAR, on the occasions when unusual incidents such as this occur, to have the facility to say 'this one is in the margins, so you might want to take a second look yourself' to the referee.
"However, it is important to stress this facility is not currently available to VARs. Currently, the VAR can only instruct the referee to go to the pitchside monitor for what he deems to be a clear and obvious error."
Analysis by Dale Johnson, football issues reporter
Trevoh Chalobah was incredibly fortunate to escape conceding a penalty.
Challenging an attacker shoulder to shoulder, or side to side as it was described by the Premier League Match Centre, is not usually a foul.
There have been many shoulder-to-shoulder incidents which the Premier League's Key Match Incidents Panel has deemed not to have reached the threshold for a VAR review.
For instance, when Ipswich Town's Dara O'Shea seemed to aggressively shove Tottenham's Kevin Danso off the ball last season.
Similarly, shielding is often how defenders see the ball out of play.
The difference with this challenge was that Chalobah placed his right leg across Gordon, making clear lower-body contact. To be in a position to shield the ball out, he had to commit a foul challenge.
