West Brom: Dermot Gallagher fearful over Aune Heggebo incident as Thierry Henry comparison made

West Bromwich Albion's Aune Heggebo picked up an unfair ban after handling the ball to score against Norwich City, Dermot Gallagher believes.

Albion have felt aggrieved after their striker picked up a retrospective two-match ban after scoring with his hand in the 2-1 win over the Canaries on the opening weekend of the Championship.

The 25-year-old missed the game against Burnley and will also be unavailable for a midweek Carabao Cup game against Newcastle United.

James Morrison managed without Heggebo in the 3-1 win over Burnley, and will thankfully have his number nine back for a trip to face Middlesbrough on Saturday.

However, the incident in East Anglia has sparked more conversation that VAR needs to be implemented in the Championship.

Former Premier League referee Gallagher has strong feelings about what happened at Carrow Road, and believes, like many others, that Heggebo and West Brom have been hard done by.

Dermot Gallagher fears 'can of worms' opened from Aune Heggebo farce

Unsurprisingly, there has been uproar from Baggies fans after Heggebo's ban was announced.

One of the many arguments is that the EFL are trying to protect their referees, as one of the officials should have spotted the handball in the first place.

Had Tim Robinson noticed this, Heggebo would have been given a yellow card for unsporting behaviour, but was instead found guilty of trying to deceive the referee.

While speaking live on Sky Sports' Ref Watch on Monday, Gallagher had his say on the matter.

Gallagher said: "From my view, I thought the referee could well have seen it, but he didn't see it; he didn't give it.

"But it's the can of worms it's raised; how far is this going to impact down the line? If this is a Premier League game, that player probably wouldn't have even gotten a yellow card."

Jay Bothroyd jokingly asked Gallagher, who was born in Ireland, about Thierry Henry's infamous handball that helped France score against the Boys in Green and qualify for the 2010 World Cup at their expense.

Bothroyd asked: "What about Henry when he handballed it, would it have been in effect then?"

Gallagher responded with a smile: "Unfortunately, no."

With Heggebo unavailable for selection against Newcastle on Wednesday, it gives Morrison a chance to experiment.

West Brom man to be handed first amid Heggebo absence

West Brom had arguably their best performance in years against Burnley, putting up a quality display against a side recently relegated from the Premier League.

Albion managed without Heggebo, but Morrison didn't choose to start Barney Stewart in his absence.

However, the game against the Magpies gives the Albion boss a chance to do so and possibly throw Matthias Jaissle off.

Stewart was on fire for the Black Country Club in pre-season and could Morrison a different outlet at the top end of the field to try and cause a cup upset.