Mendy was looking for contact

THE way goalkeepers put their bodies, and particularly their heads, on the line, it’s only right that officials look to protect them.

I’ll be honest, though, I think the decision to disallow West Ham’s equaliser is marginal. Jarrod Bowen doesn’t do everything to avoid contact with Edouard Mendy and does leave a trailing leg so you can say that may constitute a foul in the eyes of a referee.

But, as a goalkeeper, I would say Mendy is expecting contact in a situation like this. At St James’ Park, I certainly don’t think it was a foul on Crystal Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita by Newcastle’s Joe Willock.

Palace defender Tyrick Mitchell pushed Willock into the keeper before putting the ball in his own net. So, for me, it’s either a goal or a penalty.