Newcastle may have gained from a questionable call made by official Rob Jones in their stalemate at Bournemouth.

Eddie Howe decided to rest Bruno Guimaraes, introducing seven changes to his Newcastle lineup that had been beaten by Barcelona in the Champions League.

The game produced very few scoring chances, though Nick Woltemade appealed for a penalty for Newcastle after being pulled down by Bournemouth defender Bafodé Diakité inside the box.

Yet, while Newcastle were convinced it was a spot-kick, defender Malick Thiaw arguably escaped punishment and was fortunate to remain on the field.

Malick Thiaw fortunate to avoid dismissal in Premier League bow

Thiaw impressed Newcastle fans with his cameo against Barcelona, and the 24-year-old signing from AC Milan was handed his first league start at Bournemouth.

With only ten minutes left at the Vitality Stadium, Thiaw charged recklessly into Ryan Christie, who was driving forward towards the penalty area.

Already carrying a booking, Bournemouth’s players and fans immediately demanded that the German centre-back be shown another yellow card.

Although he would not have been completely clear through on goal, with two defenders still back, Christie clearly looked set to enter the box and may have managed a clean strike on target.

Former referees’ head gives verdict on Thiaw incident

Ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett argued that Thiaw was fortunate not to see red, and admitted he was taken aback by the referee’s choice.

“Astonished that Rob Jones didn’t produce a second yellow for what was clearly a reckless foul,” Hackett said.

“He has built his image on applying the rules strictly, which makes it even more surprising that no card followed on this occasion.”

Just minutes after the foul, Howe removed Thiaw for Jamall Lascelles, seemingly an acknowledgment that the defender could easily have been dismissed.

As a result, Thiaw remains eligible to feature when Newcastle face Arsenal in the Premier League.