Raging Rafa calls for VAR after late heartbreak

A FURIOUS Rafael Benitez called for the immediate introduction of Video Assistant Referees following Newcastle’s controversial Premier League defeat by Wolves.

The Spaniard insisted referee Mike Dean and his assistants got two key decisions wrong as his side succumbed 2-1 to Matt Doherty’s stoppage-time header and left him bemoaning the fact that the VAR system is not being used until next season.

Benitez was convinced that full-back DeAndre Yedlin should not have been dismissed for a 56th-minute tug on Diogo Jota’s shirt, and that Willy Boly should have had a red card and conceded a penalty after catching Ayoze Perez with a flying elbow.

Asked about the Boly incident, Benitez, who was fined earlier this season for comments praising Andre Marriner after Crystal Palace striker Wilfried Zaha called for greater protection from referees, said: “I saw the replay and we need VAR right now.

“You can see the replay. I was praising the referees after a player was talking and they fined me. Imagine how I feel now.

“It was an elbow in the face, he was bleeding – it was so obvious.”