Calvert-Lewin fortunate to escape red card in Leeds victory, says Hackett

Dominic Calvert-Lewin was ‘lucky’ not to be shown a red card during Leeds United’s 4-1 triumph over Newcastle United on Monday night, according to former Premier League referee Keith Hackett.

Calvert-Lewin was initially credited with two goals in the match before Leeds’ second was later awarded to Jayden Bogle.

The 12-time England international was in excellent form and played a significant role in Leeds’ commanding win.

However, the former Everton striker received a yellow card for a challenge on Magpies defender Sven Botman just before half-time, having caught the Dutch centre-back with an elbow.

Newcastle's woes were compounded when the striker netted a third goal just before the interval, and Noah Okafor, who had played under Magpies head coach Matthias Jaissle during his time at RB Salzburg, capped off a disappointing evening for the German’s side by scoring a fourth goal in the second half.

A late goal from substitute Bazoumana Traore proved to be a mere consolation for Newcastle as they now shift their focus to Saturday’s final Premier League fixture before the international break, with newly-promoted Hull City visiting St James’ Park.

While it appears unlikely that the decision to issue only a yellow card to Calvert-Lewin for his clash with Botman would have altered the outcome given Newcastle’s poor performance at Elland Road, former referee Keith Hackett believes the powerful striker was fortunate not to receive a harsher punishment from on-field referee Michael Salisbury, describing the decision as ‘borderline’.

The former Premier League and FIFA referee told Football Insider: "This was no accident, and he is lucky not to receive a red card for this challenge. The referee judged it as 'reckless' and not 'violent conduct'. It was borderline and the player got the benefit of the doubt."

Source: NewcastleWorld