PGMOL insider reviews Fabian Schar red card call reviewed as Newcastle thrashed by Aston Villa
19/04/2025 15:18
Newcastle United centre-back Fabian Schar had an eventful start to his side’s clash with Aston Villa, and Keith Hackett has revealed whether the Swiss international should have been sent off in that.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider the Magpies ace was rightly not shown a straight red card for denying Ollie Watkins an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
Going into that game at Villa Park on Saturday (19 April), Watkins had a point to prove after being dropped for Marcus Rashford in the Aston Villa lineup in recent weeks, and he wasted no time doing so.
With less than a minute on the clock, the England international put his side in front when his shot deflected off Schar and into the back of the net.
The centre-back would level for Newcastle with 18 minutes gone when he headed home a Harvey Barnes cross.
Between those two goals though there were questions over whether Schar could have been sent off for a clash with Watkins.
Fabian Schar avoids early red card at Aston Villa
With 13 minutes on the clock, Watkins attempted to run on to a high ball over the top of the Newcastle defence to get through on goal.
The Aston Villa striker’s attempts to do so were stopped when he was pulled to the ground by Schar, who was then shown a yellow card by referee Jarred Gillett.
| Fabian Schar vs Aston Villa | Total (as per SofaScore) |
| Goals | 1 |
| Accurate Passes | 31/37 |
| Duels Won | 0/5 |
| Clearances | 7 |
| Shots Blocked | 1 |
| Fouls | 1 |
VAR then confirmed the decision, despite questions about whether the centre-back should have been sent off due to a lack of other covering defenders between him and the goal.
Hackett though is confident that the correct decision was reached as Watkins would have struggled to gain possession given how far ahead of him the ball had been played.
Newcastle United lose despite escaping early sending off
After being asked by Football Insider whether Schar could have been sent off for bringing down Watkins as the last man, the former referee said:
“The referee has judged this incident correctly. Part of [determining] the denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity is to judge the probability of the attacker being able to control the ball. There is doubt, therefore, [a] yellow card [is the] correct decision.”
Schar was later lucky not to concede a penalty for a challenge on Watkins inside his own area during the second half of the game.
Despite that, Newcastle still produced a well below-par performance as they were thrashed 4-1 by Aston Villa, in what could prove a blow to their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
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