Alan Shearer has criticized referee Anthony Taylor for what he believes was a hasty and inaccurate decision to show a red card to Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran during their 3-0 defeat to Newcastle on Boxing Day.
Duran, 21, was sent off after he appeared to accidentally stand on the back of Fabian Schar. VAR reviewed the initial red card decision and ultimately upheld the referee’s call. However, Shearer expressed his displeasure with the decision, describing it as harsh.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, the former Newcastle striker sympathized with Duran, suggesting that the referee had “guessed” the situation based on the players’ reactions. Shearer explained, “When Duran plants his left foot, he twists his ankle, and that automatically pushes him to his left-hand side, which causes him to step on Schar. I think it’s a harsh decision.”
He continued, “Once they made the decision on the pitch, they weren’t going to overturn it. But I felt the referee should have slowed down and taken a bit more time before making such a call. I thought it was a poor decision.”
Villa manager Unai Emery also criticized the decision during his post-match press conference, taking issue with both the referee and VAR’s role in the situation. Emery argued that Taylor made a judgment too quickly and suggested that officials should have used VAR more effectively. “The referee made the decision immediately, and he was the only person in the stadium who couldn’t take his time. He needs to be smarter and calm down,” said Emery. “The red card changed the game completely.”
Fellow pundit Joe Hart echoed Shearer’s comments and agreed with the criticism of the swift red card decision. Hart said, “I get what Emery is saying. He’s not necessarily saying it’s the wrong decision, but to make such a knee-jerk reaction when you have the chance to review it and understand why it happened, I’m with Alan on this one.”
The controversial decision overshadowed Villa’s performance and led to questions about the effectiveness of VAR in such situations, with both Shearer and Emery calling for greater caution and clarity in future decisions.
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