Joe Willock's hilarious response to disallowed Newcastle United goal as midfielder takes aim at VAR

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Newcastle United secured a rare away victory on Tuesday night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 10: Joe Willock of Newcastle United celebrates after scoring a goal but it is disallowed during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 10, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
Joe Willock of Newcastle United celebrates after scoring but it is disallowed moments later (Image credit: Getty Images)

Newcastle ran out 2-1 winners over Spurs in midweek, which proved to be the final straw for the Tottenham board who promptly sacked Thomas Frank as first-team boss.

The Magpies have been poor travellers this season, recording only their third league win away from home in north London.

Joe Willock sees funny side of narrowly disallowed Newcastle goal

Joe Willock has been a regular off the bench this season but rarely in the starting lineup

Joe Willock has been a regular off the bench this season but rarely in the starting lineup (Image credit: Getty Images)

Thiaw's opener came on the stroke of half-time, but minutes earlier Newcastle believed they had taken the lead, only to see Joe Willock's well-taken strike ruled out by the Video Assistant Referee.

Offside was called on Willock's run in behind the Spurs defence, judged to have timed his burst forward a fraction too early.

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 10: Thomas Frank manager / head coach of Tottenham Hotspur after the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on February 10, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)

Spurs' defeat proved to be Thomas Frank's final game in charge (Image credit: Getty Images)

After consulting with the VAR at Stockley Park, aided by the semi-automated offside system in force in the Premier League, referee Anthony Taylor cancelled Willock's opener, much to the dismay of the Newcastle midfielder.

The decision proved immaterial to the result but replays showed just how close Willock had come to being given as onside.

It was the player's forehead which was deemed to have infringed, positioned ever so slightly ahead of Spurs defender Micky van de Ven's shoulder, which served as the last line.

The call was a harsh one and among the closest seen in the Premier League this season, leading Willock to comment on the decision via his social media channels.

The former Arsenal man offered a comical retort on his Instagram story the morning after Newcastle's eventual victory.

Accompanied by a screengrab of the semi-automated offside call, Willock wrote: "If only I got a trim before the game", suggesting he should have gone for a haircut, highlighting how fine the margin of offside was.

Willock scored with his head during the Magpies' recent 1-1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League but is still in search of his first league goal of the 2025/26 campaign.

Joe Donnohue
Joe Donnohue
Senior Digital Writer

Joe joined FourFourTwo as senior digital writer in July 2025 after five years covering Leeds United in the Championship and Premier League. Joe's 'Mastermind' specialist subject is 2000s-era Newcastle United having had a season ticket at St. James' Park for 10 years before relocating to Leeds and later London. Joe takes a keen interest in youth football, covering PL2, U21 Euros, as well as U20 and U17 World Cups in the past, in addition to hosting the industry-leading football recruitment-focused SCOUTED podcast. He is also one of the lucky few to have 'hit top bins' as a contestant on Soccer AM. It wasn't a shin-roller.

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