Newcastle United goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek conceded a penalty against Coventry City after being adjudged to have fouled Sky Blues centre-forward Sidiki Cherif. Referee John Brooks awarded the spot-kick, and pundits were divided over the decision.
Hornicek's costly error
Hornicek initially denied Ephron Mason-Clark one-on-one, but the ball rebounded off him to Cherif. After throwing himself at the ball, Cherif appeared to flick it over Hornicek's outstretched arms, which instead made contact with the opposition player's right foot. The Sky Blues' summer signing jumped up in the air, throwing both his arms and legs up in the air, appealing.
Alan Smith, commentating live on Sky Sports, was in no doubt that Brooks made the correct decision. "Well, he's made a complete mess of it at the start, he should've collected it first time, and then it's panic stations," he said.
Mixed pundit reactions
The former Arsenal and Leicester City striker concluded: "Cherif gets there first, and yeah it's a stick-on penalty... that's a pen all day long," adding that the referee "had a good view of it".
Steve Cooper in the Monday Night Football studio also agreed. The former Leicester and Nottingham Forest head coach said: "The goalkeeper hasn't covered himself in glory." Asked if he would expect Hornicek to get hold of it in the first instance, Cooper concurred: "You do, yeah, you'd think so, to be fair. He's in a good position, he looks fairly comfortable. It's common, isn't it? You follow one mistake with another, and that seems to be what's happened there."
However, former Newcastle defender John Anderson did not agree. He said on BBC Radio Newcastle: "I'm not sure, I don't think that's a penalty. He's got something on it, but I still don't think it's a penalty." Anderson reiterated at half-time: "I thought it was a soft penalty to give away."
Newcastle's penalty record
It is the tenth penalty Newcastle have conceded across all competitions since the start of last season. Four of those came in the Champions League, one in each leg against Barcelona, both of which Lamine Yamal scored. Aaron Ramsdale, however, saved one from Marko Jankovic against Qarabag, and Nick Pope denied Ousmane Dembele in the 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain.
All five in the Premier League, though, went in. Newcastle conceded just two in the 2025/26 season, with Pope saving one from Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze.
