Gary Neville has defended the referee’s call to give Liverpool a stoppage-time penalty in their thrilling 2-2 draw against Newcastle at St James’ Park, arguing that VAR got the call right even though it left home fans fuming.
Newcastle looked to be heading for a famous win after going 2-1 up late on. Anthony Elanga had put the Magpies ahead, Cody Gakpo pulled Liverpool level, and then Joe Willock restored Newcastle’s lead, putting the hosts on the verge of a full haul of points.
But the game had one more twist left.
Deep into the fifth minute of added time, Liverpool were thrown a lifeline. Victor Munoz hit the deck in the box after a challenge from Lewis Hall, and referee Stuart Attwell pointed straight to the spot.
The call caused an uproar in the stands, with Newcastle fans feeling their side had been hard done by so late in the game, while Liverpool suddenly had a chance to salvage a point from a match they’d been on track to lose. Eyes naturally drifted to Alexander Isak, back at Tyneside for the first time since his controversial switch from Newcastle to Liverpool a year earlier — many assumed the Swede would take the kick given the occasion and his history with the club.
Instead, it was Dominik Szoboszlai who stepped up, slotting home a calm finish to level things at 2-2. The Hungarian held his nerve under intense pressure and secured a point for his side.
As Newcastle fans debated whether Hall’s tackle really warranted a spot-kick, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville explained why he didn’t think VAR would overturn it. He noted that Hall never got a touch on the ball before Munoz went down, calling that the deciding factor.
“Hall has been incredible but that is not going to be overturned. One thing I recognised straightaway was there was no touch on the ball. It looked like a penalty right away,” Neville said.
The former United full-back also had praise for Hall’s display more broadly, especially how he handled Liverpool’s attackers throughout the game. “Lewis Hall in all parts of this game, against Munoz and [Rio] Ngumoha, has moved his feet,” he added. “He’s not taken the lazier option to stand there and just put his leg out. He’s got low, he’s been really sharp in his defending and in the final seconds…”
That verdict will offer little consolation to Newcastle fans, who’d watched their team put in a strong performance only to be denied a signature win in the closing seconds. The Premier League’s own officiating body, PGMOL, backed up Attwell’s decision too, confirming via their Pro Ref account on X that VAR had checked and confirmed the penalty call against Hall.
The spot-kick meant the spoils were shared, leaving Newcastle to rue what could have been after letting their lead slip at the death. For Liverpool, escaping with a point after looking like they were headed for defeat could turn out to be significant down the line.
The moment will likely keep being debated by Newcastle supporters given how late it came — but both Neville and the league’s officiating authorities agreed the call was correct and didn’t meet the bar for VAR intervention. In the end, Newcastle missed out on a memorable win by the narrowest of margins, while Liverpool showed they can keep pushing right to the final whistle — yet another example of the chaos two Premier League giants can produce when the big call comes in the dying seconds.
