Super Newcastle comeback will be forever tarnished

Was it a second half collapse, an amazing fightback or just a serious of appalling decisions from the officials? Either way the match at St. James' Park on Saturday will live long in the memory of everyone who witnessed it.
For fifty minutes Arsenal looked every bit potential Champions. They had the game seemingly won inside ten minutes with goals from Theo Walcott, Johan Djourou and Robin van Persie, and when the Dutchman then added a fourth midway through the first half it was just a matter of how many more they wanted to score.

van Persie heads Arsenal 4-0 up.

But everything turned on the dismissal of Abu Diaby five minutes into the second half. The challenge on him from Joey Barton was robust and possibly a foul but that did not excuse his subsequent reaction and referee Phil Dowd was right to brandish the red card. What followed though was simply incredible.
With just over twenty minutes left and Arsenal looking home and hosed, Dowd and his motley crew decided to offer them a helping hand. Yes there was contact as Leon Best went over under a challenge from Laurent Koscienly inside the area but to give a penalty for it was harsh to say the least.

Phil Dowd, Newcastle's man of the match?

Barton tucked away what liked like a consolation but as he and Kevin Nolan went to retrieve the ball Arsenal keeper Wojzech Szczchesny refused to hand it over. The reaction of Nolan was no less aggressive then the one which had seen Diaby dismissed earlier as he grabbed the Pole around the neck and tried to wrestle him to the ground. And all this in front of the assistant referee. The verdict? A yellow card for both Szczchesny and Nolan. One rule for one then...
The same assistant then ruled out a perfectly good goal from Best, who was being played at least five yards onside by Tomas Rosicky, before Best did get his reward with a close range finish as the match moved into its final quarter.
But that was not the end of the drama or controversy. With eight minutes left Mike Williamson jumped for high ball into the box with Koscielny and Rosicky in close attendance and amazingly the same assistant awarded Newcastle a second penalty. Was there contact? Well there certainly did not appear to be any and if that is a penalty offence then there would be 10 penalties in every match...
Barton dispatched his second spot kick beyond Szczchesny and there was only going to one outcome now. Yes Cheik Tiote's twenty-five volley that brought the Geordies level was a hell of a strike but the free kick awarded by Dowd that led to it was harsh at best.

Tiote celebrates his late leveller.

With St. James' Park now in uproar van Persie looked to have completed his hat-trick at the other end but in keeping with the farcical nature of the second half the assistant on the other side got in on the act with an offside flag that was every bit as wrong as the one that had earlier denied Best.
So instead of praising what was an amazing comeback by Alan Pardew's men, the whole of the second half has now been tarnished by the shocking decisions of Dowd and talk of a possible betting scam. The record books may show that the match ended in a 4-4 draw but I think we have not heard the last of this by a long way...