Newcastle boss Eddie Howe makes Anthony Gordon red card appeal vow – ‘Without hesitation’

Anthony Gordon was sent off as Newcastle were dumped out of the FA Cup by Brighton on Sunday, with boss Eddie Howe branding referee Anthony Taylor’s decision ‘harsh’

Eddie Howe refused to condemn red card villain Anthony Gordon for the moment of madness that will rule him out of the Carabao Cup final.

On a disastrous day for Newcastle, they were dumped out of one cup competition and the Toon’s chances of beating Liverpool at Wembley in a fortnight took a massive hit when England winger Gordon was sent off.

But Geordie messiah Howe claimed Gordon’s expulsion for an irascible, head-high, two-handed shove on Jan Paul van Hecke was “harsh” – and that Newcastle would explore grounds to appeal it. Referee Anthony Taylor’s decision was upheld by VAR James Bell and the chances of Gordon’s three-match ban being overturned look remote.

Although Brighton ’s numerical advantage was short-lived when Tariq Lamptey was sent off for a second bookable offence eight minutes later, former England striker Danny Welbeck’s winner sent Albion into their fourth FA Cup quarter-final in seven years.

But Gordon’s red card was the talk of the Toon and Howe groaned: “There’s a lot to unpack but it’s desperately disappointing to go out. The red card looked harsh, but we will have to analyse it properly. I have not seen a replay of it so I am going on my original view – I thought it looked harsh.

“If we analyse the incident and there are grounds for appeal, we will do that without hesitation. Knowing the player as I do, I know there was no malice intended. Anthony didn’t mean any harm. I have only seen him briefly (since the game ended) and he was very disappointed.

“If he is missing from the final, that will be a big blow to us – but when someone suffers misfortune in football, it’s someone else’s opportunity and that’s what we have a squad for. I’m sure Anthony wants us to look at it that way and, in his absence, be strong and try to win the game.

“The mood will be flat but you can’t change that in the short term – you have to let the emotions run out and then you have to start work and get back to it.”

Fabian Schar appeared to have snatched a dramatic winner for Newcastle in stoppage time, only for his effort to be ruled out by a borderline VAR call and Howe looked crestfallen afterwards.

He admitted: “It’s not a great day for us, but it could have been – we talk about fine margins in football, but if Fab’s disallowed goal had been onside by the shortest of distances, we would be sitting here saying it was an amazing win and what great character the players showed.

“You can’t overreact, I certainly won’t overreact and I’ll make sure we’re OK for our next match. I don’t know if the cup final has been a negative influence on our performances of late, but I know the level has dropped from where it was a few weeks ago, and the most important thing is that we need to get them back up.”

Howe’s misery was compounded by defender Kieran Trippier suffering a back problem, full-back Tino Livramento finishing the game barely able to move through cramp and talisman Alexander Isak was unable to complete 90 minutes.

Brighton matchwinner Welbeck, who won two FA Cup winner’s medals with Arsenal, said: “We have got to push on. There’s a lot more to come from us as a team. It is exciting times and we’re looking forward to finishing strong.”

And Seagulls coach Fabian Hurzeler even tipped his 34-year-old striker for an England encore, saying: “It might be possible, but it is not my decision. The only thing I can say is I am happy to work with him, he is a great leader, great role model and a great player.

“Not only the character but the performance of my players was quite impressive. It’s always do or die in the Cup, but we always found the right solution. The game was intense and tough. We had some setbacks but the reaction was always positive.”

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