West Ham United: Micah Richards fumes at Alan Shearer after ‘ridiculous’ Newcastle United claim
Micah Richards has fumed at Alan Shearer after the former Newcastle striker insisted the controversial penalty given to his former side against West Ham was “absolutely certain”.
Shearer insisted that Anthony Gordon had been “wiped out” by Kalvin Phillips, allowing the momentum to swing in favour of Newcastle who ultimately staged a comeback victory.
Richards, meanwhile, called the decision “ridiculous” as he fumed at Shearer’s assessment, suggesting a free kick could even have been given the other way as Gordon stepped across Phillips.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football [1 April], Shearer shared: “Wow. It was an unbelievable game, I thought West Ham were really good up until they made their substitutions which gave Newcastle an opportunity.
“I thought it was an absolutely certain penalty. He’s totally wiped him out in the box.”
Richards then fumed: “Are you being serious? Come on. That is a ridiculous, ridiculous decision. Honest to god. Phillips is about to kick the ball, he’s swinging through.
“If Gordon would’ve touched the ball… He didn’t. He’s nowhere near the ball. He’s put his leg in front of where Phillips is about to swing, so it could even be a foul on Phillips. It was ridiculous.”
West Ham embroiled in controversy after Newcastle defeat
Richards’ anger at Shearer’s claims is echoed by most West Ham fans, with the dubious penalty decision quickly becoming the subject of debate as Gordon appeared to initiate the contact with Phillips rather than the other way around.
Giving away a penalty at such a crucial time of the game compounded the misery of the midfielder who was recently left out of the England squad as a result of the dreadful start to his loan spell at the London Stadium.
Phillips’ off-field antics quickly overshadowed the controversy of this incident as he was captured on film swearing at fans who were giving him abuse while he boarded the team coach following the defeat at St James’ Park.
Jeff Stelling reacted to the incident live on talkSPORT as he claimed if the fans want to abuse their players, they should expect to be given some back, as he deflected the blame away from the struggling West Ham loanee.
In other West Ham news, Joe Cole predicted Lucas Paqueta to leave in a big-money transfer.
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