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Oscar Haley

'Varane cuts right across him' - Given and Woodgate agree on Newcastle United penalty claim

Former Newcastle United duo Jonathan Woodgate and Shay Given were left perplexed by Craig Pawson's decision not to award the Magpies a penalty against Manchester United.

Newcastle forward Callum Wilson thought he had won a penalty for the Magpies in the first-half after he made a driving run into the area before being cut-off by Man United's Raphael Varane.

Pawson did not believe it was a penalty. VAR officials at Stockley Park did take a look but deemed Varane's challenge was fair.

READ MORE: Eddie Howe offers view on Callum Wilson penalty call as Man Utd boss Erik Ten Hag snubs question

However, it was certainly a contentious decision. Had Pawson taken a look at the pitch side monitor, he might have seen things differently. And former Newcastle teammates Woodgate and Given were among those who could not believe a penalty was not awarded after Varane's rash challenge.

Woodgate initially agreed with Pawson's decision by telling BBC Radio 5 Live: "I’d be surprised if that was a penalty. It was a brilliant recovery from Martinez because he [Wilson] just seemed to get away from Varane. It’s the recovery again from Martinez. He’s started strong and aggressive."

But upon being shown a replay of Varane's challenge, Woodgate seemed to change his mind saying: " If you were the referee and you had another look?"

Given however needed no convincing of how the incident should have played out.

"I cannot understand how that isn’t a penalty for Newcastle," said the former Newcastle keeper. "Varane cuts right across him."

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