Aston Villa boss Unai Emery rages over Jhon Duran red card at Newcastle | OneFootball

Furious Aston Villa boss Unai Emery vowed to appeal against Jhon Duran’s red card after seeing his side slip to a 3-0 Premier League defeat on a stormy afternoon at Newcastle.

Villa were already trailing to Anthony Gordon’s early strike when the Colombia international was shown a straight red card by referee Anthony Taylor for stamping on Magpies defender Fabian Schar 13 minutes before the break, in the process strengthening the hosts’ grip on the game.

Villa boss Emery was incensed on the touchline and could not understand why VAR had not intervened.

Asked if he thought it was a red card, the Spaniard said: “For me, not. For me, not. It was completely not.

“I can accept maybe the other team asking for a red card, okay. But VAR please, and confirm it because the punishment now is three matches.

“His reaction after with the player over him was ‘sorry, sorry’. Then we can try to analyse if he kicked him or not. I think he didn’t kick him on purpose.

“Of course we are going to appeal and hopefully it’s not three matches because it’s a very big punishment for this action.”

Duran’s premature exit was not the afternoon’s only dismissal, with Newcastle’s assistant head coach Jason Tindall and Villa’s lead analyst Victor Manas also receiving their marching orders in the tunnel at half-time amid a scene described as a “20-man melee” by one of the broadcasters who had access.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe, who ventured the opinion that Duran’s red card was “maybe harsh” at first sight, insisted his players and staff had simply been standing up for each other.

Howe said: “These things always start, I don’t think with the intention of it happening in the way that it did. It was probably 17 or 18 people trying to calm it down, but what it looks like then is more people are involved.

“No one wants to see that, it’s not at all how I want my players or staff to be, but sometimes you have to stand up for what you think is right and protect each other.”

On the pitch, Gordon’s sweet second-minute strike had given the hosts an advantage they never looked like surrendering and they were effectively home and dry 14 minutes after the restart when Alexander Isak scored for the 10th time in as many league games by tapping hope Jacob Murphy’s cross after Bruno Guimaraes had opened up the visitors.

Howe’s men had three goals disallowed, with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who was beaten again by Joelinton in stoppage time, also making a series of fine saves as Newcastle won for the fourth time in a row in all competitions to climb into the top five.

Howe, whose team were languishing in 12th place after a 4-2 defeat at Brentford on December 7, said: “That’s a note to myself all the time about how football can change in any respect.

“Whether you’re in a good moment or a bad moment, it can change so quickly and you have to always remember that in the dark moments and difficult times.”