Anthony Gordon has slammed the “ridiculous” Premier League rules after he was given a suspension that will keep him out of Newcastle’s next game against Everton tomorrow (Tuesday) – and claimed the refereeing was “not good enough”.
Gordon shone in Newcastle’s thrilling 4-3 win over West Ham on Saturday in the Premier League, where he helped his team by winning two penalties and setting up Harvey Barnes for his late winning goal.
But the ex-Everton forward was issued a second yellow card from referee Rob Jones in the last minute of the game. Gordon had been warned before he kicked the ball away, which saw him handed another yellow for wasting time.
“I tapped the ball away. How far you want to look into that… it’s incredible really,” he said. “To get sent off for tapping a ball five yards. To be honest with you, I only think he booked me because he didn’t know he’d booked me before. That’s not good enough to be honest with you.
“A big blow for us, especially for him personally with the game it was but Harvey and Elliot [Anderson] have come on the pitch and done really well so at least we have players in form.”
Barnes entered the game in the 67th minute and managed to score an equaliser in the 83rd minute by getting the ball past Lukas Fabinaski. The former Leicester winger then showed off his skills by curving the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box, securing the win.
“He is an incredible player,” Howe told the BBC about Barnes. “We have missed him this season and he would have given us quality wherever he played. He is a goalscorer and they are so valuable, and his two finishes today were of the highest quality.”
Gordon won’t be the only Newcastle player missing against Everton as Jamaal Lascelles, Timo Livramento and Miguel Almiron were also injured during the West Ham match. Despite these setbacks, the Magpies currently sit eighth in the Premier League, just one point behind West Ham and five points away from Manchester United in sixth place.
“I don’t want to complain about referees because they have a job to do. They are the rules so he’s sticking to the rules and laws of the game but it’s ridiculous really.”
Now, Gordon can’t play in the Magpies’ next match against his old team Everton, who are coming to St James’ Park on Tuesday night. The 23-year-old moved to Newcastle from Everton in January 2023 for £45million and was looking forward to playing against the Toffees.
Newcastle’s manager, Eddie Howe, is disappointed to lose Gordon for the match but believes that Barnes, who scored two goals, can fill in. “That’s a huge blow for us, it sort of summed up the day really another absentee,” he said.