Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett believes it was the right decision to send off Anthony Gordon as the Newcastle United star looks set to miss the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool. The 24-year-old was shown a red card after a tangle with Brighton & Hove Albion defender Jan Paul van Hecke on Sunday.

Hackett says referee Anthony Taylor had "no option" but to dismiss the former Everton forward as reports suggest that the Magpies will consider lodging an appeal against the decision. Should they win, they would be handed a significant boost as one of their main threats would return to contention alongside Alexander Isak.

However, as it stands, he is set to be sidelined for three matches with the Wembley final in the middle of the North East club's fixtures until the March international break.

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"When you place your hand, or hands, into the face of the opponent with a degree of force, it really leaves the referee – in this case Anthony Taylor – little option other than to show a red card and dismiss the player from the field," Hackett told Football Insider.

"There’s no clear and obvious error, there’s no VAR intervention on that one, Taylor had no option other than to dismiss him."

Manager Eddie Howe admitted that on first glance, the winger's red card was harsh and they may appeal the decision ahead of the final. He said: ""Well it looks harsh, we'll have to analyse it properly.

"I've not seen a replay on it, I'm just going on my original view, I thought it looked harsh but we'll see then see what we do. Possibly [appeal].

"I'd need to see it again to see what properly happened, it was a mass of bodies in my first viewing. Anthony obviously didn't mean any harm. I've only seen him very briefly but he's disappointed."

In his post-match press conference, the 47-year-old added: "Of course. If we analyse the incident and feel there's grounds for that [an appeal], we will do without hesitation.

"I'd need to see it, I can't sit here and give an honest opinion to that until I've done the work that you've done and looked at it. But knowing the player, I know there's no malice intended there."