Alan Shearer believes Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran was hard done by with his red card in Saturday’s heavy loss to Newcastle United.
Villa were already 1-0 down to a second-minute Anthony Gordon goal on Saturday but had managed to stabilise and create a few half-chances.
However, their hopes of picking up a result at St. James’ Park were effectively dashed just after the half-hour mark when Duran was shown a straight red card.
The Colombian striker was in a race for the ball with Fabian Schar, with both players falling to the floor. On his way down, Duran’s right foot landed on Schar’s back and at first glance, it looked like he’d stamped on the Swiss defender.
Replays, however, made it look more like Duran’s left ankle had rolled, leaving him compensating and looking for somewhere to land his right foot.
Nevertheless, VAR failed to overturn the decision, with Duran given his marching orders.
Aston Villa went on to lose the match 3-0, with Alexander Isak and Joelinton netting in the second half to complete a comprehensive victory for Newcastle.
Magpies legend Shearer reviewed the incident for BBC Radio 5 Live on Saturday.
The former England international thinks the decision from referee Anthony Taylor was ‘harsh)’ and sympathisers with the situation Duran found himself in.
“I thought it was slightly harsh,” said Shearer (via Chronicle Live).
“When you’re travelling at that much speed how can you be certain that he’s got nowhere else to put his foot? Once the referee has given the red there was no way they were going to overturn it.”
Aston Villa intend to appeal Duran’s three-game suspension but as it stands, he is set to miss Premier League games against Brighton and Leicester, as well as the FA Cup third-round clash with West Ham — all at home — before returning for the trip to Everton in mid-January.
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