Newcastle's Steve McClaren defends striker Aleksandar Mitrovic after red card

In his first two appearances off the bench for Newcastle United, Aleksandar Mitrovic acquired a yellow card in each, both after a matter of minutes.

After starting as a lone striker in Saturday's game against Arsenal, the Serbian saw red on 16 minutes after leaving his studs in the shin of Francis Coquelin.

The tackle was likely mistimed rather than malicious, but when a player recklessly goes over the ball and makes contact with an opponent - especially with the bottom of his boot - most Premier League referees will give the offender his marching orders.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger appreciated that the tackle may have been "unlucky," but told reporters Mitrovic went "overboard" and that it was a red card. His Newcastle counterpart Steve McClaren, however, saw the incident differently.

"There's no intent, no malice," McClaren said after the game. "It was definitely not dangerous. It was clumsy."

This latest blemish on Mitrovic's disciplinary record is likely to make referees more wary of his flailing legs on the pitch. In this case, McClaren was very critical of the decisions of Andre Marriner.

"Football's a contact sport, it's a physical sport and we can't take that away. It wasn't a dirty game, we haven't kicked them off the park. The cards were all fouls but I think the ref has reacted too harshly, too rashly with every one of them."

Newcastle doesn't play again for another two weeks due to the international break, but when the Magpies return at West Ham on Sept. 14, they'll be without their reported £15-million signing.