Brenden Aaronson criticised in Leeds v Norwich. (Credit: Sky Sports)

Leeds Exclusive: 'Aaronson guilty' as shock footage emerges v Norwich

Refereeing Consultant AUTHORITY Former FIFA Referee; Head of PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited). FOCUS Laws of the Game, VAR implementation, officiating performance, and PGMOL policy. THE AUDIT Keith utilises Statscore’s Officiating Telemetry, including Deep-Data Metrics like Incident Accuracy Rates, VAR Intervention Latency, and Official Positional Efficiency. He provides technical refereeing analysis to reveal the regulatory reality behind match-defining decisions.

Published on:

23 Jan 2025, 2:40 am

Brenden Aaronson tried to "deceive the referee" to win Leeds a penalty in their 2-0 win against Norwich on Wednesday, according to Keith Hackett.

In the 26th minute at Elland Road, with the Whites 1-0 up after Manor Solomon's lightning-quick opener, USA international Aaronson went down in the Norwich box when trying to beat goalkeeper Angus Gunn to the ball.

Aaronson, 24, seemed to make minimal contact with Gunn, who pulled his arms back to avoid clattering into the Leeds attacker before he went to the ground appealing to referee Matthew Donohue for a penalty kick.

However, former Premier League and FIFA referee Hackett wasn't buying Aaronson's appeals and he believes the American should have been booked for trying to cheat Donohue into awarding Daniel Farke's side a penalty kick.

Aaronson 'guilty' of simulation in Leeds win v Norwich

"Aaronson is guilty of a clear act of simulation attempting to deceive the referee," Hackett, who is the former PGMOL general manager, told MOT Leeds News after being shown footage of the incident.

"Referees have got to take a much stronger action on acts of simulation. This player is attempting to deceive the referee."

Brenden Aaronson appeals for a Leeds penalty v Norwich. (Credit: Sky Sports+)

Aaronson went on to complete 90 minutes as Leeds went back to the top of the Championship table with a fairly straightforward win over the Canaries.

Solomon's goal within 32 seconds got Daniel Farke's side off to a flyer before Daniel James doubled the home side's advantage in the 65th minute.

In other Leeds United news, the Whites have a fee agreed for a new signing.

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Leeds United

Keith Hackett