FOOTBALL fans were left fuming after Nottingham Forest ace Moussa Niakhate gave away a stoppage time penalty against Newcastle.
The Forest defender blocked Alexander Isak’s goalbound header before proceeding to clutch his FACE.
ReutersMoussa Niakhate gave away a stoppage time penalty for a handball[/caption]
ReutersNiakhate then proceeded to hold his hands to his face[/caption]
GettyAlexander Isak converted the penalty to give Newcastle a crucial win[/caption]
But referee Paul Tierney wasn’t fooled, and quickly pointed to the spot.
Fans on social media were left stunned at Niakhate’s “stupid” handball just moments before the end of the game.
One wrote: “To be fair, that was the dumbest handball I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Another said: “What a stupid handball…”
Part of a third tweet added: “What a pointless handball.”
Meanwhile, others expressed their sympathy for Forest defender Niakhate on his first start since August.
One said on Twitter: “Handball rule is so stupid in football, referees expect players to jump straight like a bullet.”
On the other hand, Newcastle fans were left blasting Niakhate for the way he clutched at his face.
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One said: “We deserve to win this solely because of the ‘acting’ after the handball.”
Part of another said: “What an idiotic handball man… Then he holds his head to make it look like he hurt his head.”
Isak stepped up to take the penalty after Niakhate blocked the Swedish striker’s header with his arm.
And the Newcastle striker duly converted from 12 yards to give Eddie Howe’s side a vital 2-1 win.
Emmanuel Dennis had initially put Forest ahead with a delicate chip over Nick Pope following Sven Botman’s horror gaffe.
Isak then equalised on the stroke of half time with a first-time finish, before earning Toon all three points deep in added time at the end of the game.