Paul Robinson blasts Craig Pawson for Pascal Struijk red card in Leeds United loss
We’re delighted to welcome former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as our exclusive columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Leeds United.
Paul Robinson has blasted referee Craig Pawson for his decision to send off Pascal Struijk as Leeds United lost to Liverpool on Sunday.
Struijk, 22, was shown a straight red by the referee after a challenge by him, which initially wasn’t even deemed as a foul, caused a serious injury to Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott.
Despite 18-year-old Elliott maintaining it wasn’t Struijk’s fault and should not have been a sending off, the FA rejected Leeds’ appeal against the defender’s three-match ban.
According to The Athletic journalist Phil Hay, Pawson told the FA that it was his decision to send off Struijk and not that of any of his assistants or VAR.
Ex-Leeds goalkeeper Robinson admits it was a really bad injury for Elliott and he doesn’t want to see that happening on the football pitch.
However, the pundit really isn’t impressed by Pawson’s officiating.
Speaking to MOT Leeds News, Robinson said: “It was never a red card – it wasn’t even a yellow. The only reason the referee sent him off was because he saw the injury to the lad.
“It was a horrific injury but in no way whatsoever was that a dangerous tackle.
“The argument they’ve got is that he left the floor but there’s no way in the world that’s a dangerous tackle, it’s just an unfortunate incident.
“The referee has got it completely wrong and looked at the injury, rather than the incident.
“It’s a terrible injury and no one wants to see that in football but there was no way there was any malice. The referee got it wrong.”
Leeds now face a selection crisis going into their clash against Newcastle on Friday night with Struijk missing and potentially Robin Koch and Diego Llorente also being out.
It means that Luke Ayling may have to cover at centre-back or youngster Charlie Cresswell gets promoted from the Under-23s to make his Premier League debut.
Marcelo Bielsa’s team sheet prior to kick-off on Friday will provide the answers.
In other Leeds United news, this teenager broke an EFL record for Leeds this week after a video clip caught him doing something incredible.