Manchester City's Rúben Dias criticised the decision to allow Newcastle's winning goal on Saturday, claiming the referee's inconsistency didn't "make sense."
Harvey Barnes scored a double to down City at St James' Park, the second of which following a corner where he appeared to nudge goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Donnarumma sprinted after the referee after Barnes scored following an initial clearance, but VAR didn't overturn the goal.
"Out of all the decisions, only the second goal -- I think we need to make it make sense," City defender Dias told Sky Sports after the game.
"Sometimes you allow it, sometimes you don't. Where's the rule? What can you actually do?
"The second goal, Gigio is in his place, he's being pushed out. And there's no consequence. It's allowed. I had the chance to see it back, I didn't even realise it on the pitch.
- Newcastle stun Man City with Barnes' brace
- One year of Ruben Amorim: 'I knew Man United would struggle'
- Liverpool told 'be patient', ignore 'sack the manager' panic
"I found it weird that he was out of position, so we immediately knew something was wrong. But I managed to see the review and it's Barnes pushing him away from the goal. We're so picky with certain contacts, but one like this with the keeper, you allow it? It is what it is. If that's the rule, fine. But let us do the same.
"Back in the day, this was a foul. Now apparently it's allowed. People are going to say I'm finding excuses but it's nothing like it. Today Newcastle were better and they deserved the win. Because of that, they were allowed to score more chances than us.
"In the end, all I'm saying is there needs to be a rule."
Asked about the incident, Man City boss Pep Guardiola referenced a goal Bournemouth scored at the Etihad Stadium where Donnarumma was disrupted at a corner in the build-up to the visitors' equaliser.
"If he complained, it's because something wrong happened," Guardiola stated. "The same happened in Bournemouth. It's what it is."
With the defeat, Man City missed out on the chance to cut Arsenal's Premier League lead to one point. Arsenal play rivals Tottenham on Sunday.