Nick Pope was waiting for the referee’s instructions when Ronaldo nipped the ball and dribbled past him before slotting the ball into an empty net
By Kehinde Okeowo
Newcastle United goalkeeper, Nick Pope has praised English referee, Craig Pawson for canceling Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal for Manchester United during their Premier League clash on Sunday.
Nick Pope, speaking to Chronicle Live after the match, insisted the referee’s decision to disallow the goal was the right call.
Ronaldo and his United teammates thought he had scored after they assumed he exploited a mix-up between Fabian Schar, who touched the ball back to the goalkeeper to take a free kick.
The Portuguese star nipped the ball from Pope, who was waiting for the referee’s instructions and dribbled past the English goalkeeper before slotting the ball into an empty net.
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Referee Pawson immediately called back the ball and ruled out Ronaldo’s effort, amid big protests from the Red Devils players.
Nike Pope said, “The free-kick was slightly in the wrong place and obviously Fabby’s [Schar] rolled it back to me and walked off. ’
“I think you know by everyone’s body language that you know he’s not meaning to take a free-kick.
“I think the referee sorted it out quickly and fair play to him for making the right decision and squashed it straight away.”
The match eventually ended goalless at Old Trafford, leaving Man United and Newcastle in the 5th and 6th positions respectively on the Premier League log table.