Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Newcastle: Rafa Benitez slams officials after Wolves score contentious injury time equaliser
Rafa Benitez took aim at English referees in the wake of Wolves' 'lucky' draw against his Newcastle side.
Willy Boly's last-gasp equaliser rescued a point for the Molineux club to dent the Magpies’ survival hopes.
The defender nodded in deep into stoppage time - although the visitors wanted a foul on goalkeeper Martin Dubravka - to earn a 1-1 draw at Molineux.
Isaac Hayden's first goal for 17 months looked to have won it for Newcastle, who sit just a point above the Premier League relegation zone.
Bentiez was clearly incensed with the officials at the final whistle, with the goal also coming a minute after the allotted four additional minutes.
The Spaniard told talkSPORT he thought Nuno Espirito Sanoto’s side were ‘lucky’.
He said: “We had the three points and then to concede this way is difficult.
“We concede in the first game [against Wolves] in the last minute and we concede today. So they have been really lucky.”
Benitez appeared to question referee Graham Scott after the match, complaining that English officials do not understand the laws of the game properly.
"In England they don't understand the rules," Benitez added. "I can say many things but it will not change anything.
"I didn't like the challenge at the end. You have to protect the keeper. We have been here for years and it's still very difficult to explain that."
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A debut for record signing Miguel Almiron was a real positive from the game for Newcastle, with the former Atlanta United midfielder looking extremely lively.
And, despite the late heartache, Benitez conceded a draw at Molineux may not be so bad in the long run.
“Hopefully, it will be really important this point,” he added.
“Again, I will say it is a pity when you have done so well to go to the end and then to lose two points in this way.
“But still, the performance of the team was quite good.”
Nuno was pleased with Wolves' desire to fight until the final seconds of the match, with their equaliser coming as late in the match as possible.
The Portuguese said: "Until the referee whistles we keep going. We're really pleased because it's something we must keep on doing.
"It came and it brought some justice. We have had a lot of moments like this, sometimes it give you the win, sometimes it doesn't.
"It's not about the point, the story of the game could have been different as the first half was totally controlled.
"What I'm disappointed with is to concede, we must be compact and we allowed Newcastle too much time to decide the final pass."