Newcastle denied a ‘stone’ penalty against Chelsea, says Eddie Howe

Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin viewed Chalupa’s challenge as “risky with its bells” while commentating on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Chalupa never got the ball, [it was] Shoulder challenge on Gordon [and] A big appeal to the referee not to award a penalty kick.”

Speaking to TNT Sports, former Premier League striker Peter Crouch said Chalupa was “unlucky” after his “aggressive attempt” to win the ball, while former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole described the tackle as “overzealous”.

“At normal speed I can understand why the referee did not award a penalty kick,” said Kahn, who retired in April after overseeing more than 1,000 professional matches. “Chalupa is certainly taking a risk by making such a challenge because there is a clear connection with Gordon.”

He added: “So the decision was correct to be reviewed by the Video Assistant Referee, who reached the conclusion that no clear and obvious foul had been committed, and the decision remained on the field that there was no penalty kick.”

“I think if there had been a penalty kick, I think the VAR would have stuck to that decision as well. So it goes back to the ‘referee’s call’.”

“I think it would be a useful addition to the VAR arsenal, on occasions when unusual incidents like this happen, to have the ability to say ‘this is on the sidelines, so you might want to take a second look yourself’ to the referee,” Kahn added.

“However, it is important to stress that this feature is not currently available to VAR. Currently, VAR can only instruct the referee to go to the pitch screen for what it considers to be a clear and obvious foul.”