Newcastle set to lodge formal complaint about Premier League refereeing

Newcastle United are set to lodge a formal complaint about the standard of Premier League refereeing after they were on the receiving end of several controversial decisions in recent weeks.

The relegation-threatened Magpies have comfortably lost their last three games to Leicester, Liverpool and Manchester City respectively. However, in each of these matches there was one or more controversial moments.

Against Leicester, James Maddison was awarded a penalty after being apparently brought down by Jamaal Lascelles, with many questioning the decision at full-time. Youri Tielemans converted the resulting spot kick to make it 1-0 and Newcastle would go on to lose 4-0.

Then, in a game against Liverpool, Isaac Hayden seemed to suffer a head injury in the build-up to Diogo Jota's strike, but the game was not halted and referee Mike Dean deemed that Hayden's problem was with his neck instead.

Most recently, in perhaps the most perplexing decision of all, Newcastle were not given a penalty after Man City keeper Ederson took out Ryan Fraser after Joao Cancelo had intercepted a through ball some way away from the incident.

According to the Telegraph, Magpies boss Eddie Howe has been left fuming by the trio of decisions and has now asked his staff to compile video evidence as the club looks to formally complain to the Premier League.

It is set to be a vital few weeks for Newcastle as they look to avoid relegation this season. The Magpies are gearing up for an active January transfer window as they try and strengthen one of the weakest starting lineups in the top-flight.

90min understands that the domestic loan market will be key, but as the club are limited to just two deals of this kind they are taking their time in making a decision on their top targets.

Off the field, the club is also targeting significant upheaval. Brighton's Dan Ashworth is being targeted as their new sporting director and Newcastle are also keen to appoint a new CEO with football experience.

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