As every single person associated with Newcastle United Football Club was losing their collective mind over the robbery that took place at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday evening, Eddie Howe, as ever, kept his head.

As he trudged over to speak with Laura Woods and her team of ex-pro pundits after the full-time whistle, Howe cut a forlorn figure. Head down, shaking it as he walked, ready to dissect a painful moment at the most inopportune time. He knew the lion's share of questions thrown his way would be about the 95th minute and Tino Livramento's 'handball'.

It would have been easy for Howe to rant and rave, lay into referee Szymon Marciniak, slag VAR and the officials off and cast an even bigger shadow over a controversial and painful result. Instead, the Newcastle boss opted to keep it as classy as ever.

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"I’m still coming to terms with it to be honest, I’m very flat still," Howe told Woods, Ally McCoist and Jermaine Jenas. "I’m very proud of the players, of what they achieved tonight and for what our squad is, it’s very, very thin, they were fantastic.

"Yeah, we might’ve ridden our luck at times but I think we deserved that and it ran out at the end because I don’t think it was a penalty. What they’re clearly not taking into account is the pace of the ball - that ball is travelling so quickly live and it’s hit his chest first - that’s the main thing.

"Even if it hit his hands first, I still don’t think it’d be a penalty because of the close proximity but you could make more of a case. That’s the frustrating thing - the pressure put on the referee by the crowd, which people at home might not be aware of - the pressure is incredible, it’s so extreme here and it’s the last seconds of the game and he’s given it."

McCoist, like many fans watching at home, was taken aback at the level-headed response from the Newcastle boss, jumping in to say: "I think you’re being very respectful and fair play to you because I think that was a disgraceful decision. I don’t know how you feel for your players, they worked their socks off, and then to get robbed by that decision - when he comes over to look at it, I just for the life of me can’t get it."

To which Howe added: "Well I think you've summed it up there better than I could because I’m not allowed to. My inner thoughts are obviously… I share every thought that you have there. I think he [the referee] was having a really good game up until that point."

Only a matter of weeks ago you had Mikel Arteta in a full meltdown inside St James' Park, using phrases like 'disgrace', 'embarrassing' and 'I feel sick' over a subjective VAR decision that didn't happen to go his way. It was no surprise to see the FA charge him over his conduct in the 1-0 Newcastle defeat.

On the flip side, It is commendable to see Howe keep his head while everyone else lost theirs. After all, he and his team were just minutes away from one of the most memorable wins in the club's history.

Instead, their position in Group F and the Champions League as a whole is now looking significantly less pleasant than it would have had Newcastle held out until full-time. As Wolves boss Gary O'Neil said 24 hours prior to Howe's calm response, livelihoods are being harmed by VAR and the baffling decisions constantly seen despite this advanced technology being in place.

It was a scandalous decision. So far only a smattering of petty Arsenal fans have agreed with it. Even referee Marciniak, who had a solid game up until added time, will surely be kicking himself.

Yet Howe, as ever, represents the club with integrity on an extremely difficult evening. Even if inside the decision will likely haunt him, as well as the fan base, for quite some time.