Newcastle should have had a penalty at Man United... but it wasn't the ref's fault

Newcastle will feel aggrieved that they were not awarded a penalty at 2-0 after a handball by Ashley Young in the 40th minute.

The Manchester United full back, standing in a two-man defensive wall, deliberately moved his right arm and blocked a free-kick.

Referee Anthony Taylor should have given a penalty (he didn’t even award a corner) but in his defence, the incident was in a blind spot and there is a reason why he could not see it.

Taylor prioritised his view on the penalty area for potential holding and his assistant on the far side had his view blocked, so could not support him.

Until VAR is introduced, what officials should do in this situation is move their fourth official down the touchline to support them in monitoring the wall.

The fourth official can then alert the referee to any potential handball.