A tough call for the referee! Newcastle scored a controversial goal against Chelsea, and the offside system wasn't working
Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
In the 17th round Premier League clash between Newcastle and Chelsea, the officials validated a goal after a challenging episode involving a potential offside.
Details: In the 20th minute, Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade bagged a brace, extending the lead to 2-0. The goal was a tricky one for the referee as suspicions of offside immediately arose. After the ball hit the net, the incident was sent to VAR for review.
Following the check, a decision was made: no offside, goal stands. But during the review, technical issues arose—the Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) was unavailable, forcing the VAR officials to manually draw the offside lines to reach a final verdict.
As of the 40th minute, Newcastle lead 2-0, courtesy of Nick Woltemade’s brace.
Those two goals bring Woltemade’s season tally to eight and nine across all competitions for Newcastle.
Reminder: Manchester City and Bayern are interested in Chelsea’s central defender Josh Acheampong.
