‘Why’… Former referee delivers his honest verdict on Joelinton’s red card for Brazil last night

‘Why’… Former referee delivers his honest verdict on Joelinton’s red card for Brazil last night

A pretty bleak international break ended in further disappointment for Newcastle United midfielder Joelinton on Tuesday night.

After being beaten by Colombia last week, Brazil lost once again in World Cup qualifying action. This time they were up against rivals Argentina, with the world champions winning 1-0.

Bruno Guimaraes started for the Selecao, while Joelinton was named on the bench. He did come on in the 72nd minute to win another cap for his country, but it was an appearance that lasted less than 10 minutes.

 

The Brazilian was shown a red card in the 81st minute. He was given a straight red after an incident with Rodrigo De Paul.

Joelinton had possession of the ball and was being held by the Argentinian midfielder. After passing the ball to a teammate, Joelinton continued to be held, leading to the 27-year-old turning around and pushing De Paul away.

 

It was nothing more than a push, yet De Paul went down clutching his face in embarrassing fashion.

 

Shockingly, Joelinton was given a red card, and former Premier League referee Keith Hackett has given his verdict on the decision.

 

Keith Hackett thinks Joelinton red card was wrong

Hackett has taken to X to comment on the red card Joelinton received for Brazil against Argentina on Tuesday night.

He wrote: “Why didn’t the referee penalise Joelinton’s opponent who was holding him. I cannot see how this referee can issue a red card. Joelinton was trying to break free from his opponent.”

Newcastle midfielder was on the end of a shocking decision
As Hackett says, there was no reason for Joelinton to be punished. It should have been the other way around. And even then, Joelinton did nothing so severe that it warranted a red card.

 

The only saving grace from a Newcastle perspective is that it meant Joelinton’s night was over and that he could not pick up an injury. Selfishly, that was all we wanted from Brazil vs Argentina.

While it is great to see your players shining for their country, the most important thing for Newcastle was not sustaining any more injuries.

 

That looks to have been the case, meaning Bruno and Joelinton should be ready to start when the Magpies take on Chelsea on Saturday. That is excellent, and Joelinton will probably be even more fired up than usual after the miscarriage of justice he suffered in the yellow of Brazil.