Football pundit Garth Crooks has been full of praise for Premier League referee Darren England following his performance during Newcastle’s match with Brighton at the weekend.
Eddie Howe’s side failed to cement their place in the European places further as they drew 1-1 with the Seagulls and after the clash, the St James’ Park faithful were not happy with the referee as they felt he had given some bad decisions against them.
One decision the Premier League official got spot on was booking Miguel Almiron late in the second half for diving as he tried to con the referee into awarding a penalty as Newcastle searched for a winner.
The dive was pretty pathetic from the winger and pundits have not been happy with the Paraguayan’s actions. Club legend Alan Shearer criticised Almiron during Match of the Day on Saturday night, and now BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks has given his verdict.
Garth Crooks says Newcastle star Miguel Almiron should be “ashamed” of himself after dive
As part of his BBC Sport team of the week, Crooks gave an honourable mention to Darren England, whilst unsurprisingly not picking any Newcastle or Brighton players.
“Outstanding refereeing by Darren England who gave two yellow cards to players who dived in order to gain an advantage during Newcastle’s draw with Brighton,” the former footballer wrote.
“Brighton’s Julio Enciso and Newcastle’s Miguel Almiron ought to be ashamed of themselves.”