Paul Tierney’s colleagues should follow his lead as ex-PGMOL chief speaks out on Birmingham vs Leeds incident
Paul Tierney has been praised for his decisive action in Leeds’ FA Cup penalty shootout win against Birmingham City.
Leeds were given a hard time by the Championship outfit at St Andrews’ on 15 February, held to a 0-0 draw after extra time, and they eventually prevailed 4-2 in the shootout.
The hosts’ Carlos Vicente was booked in the 42nd minute for a blatant dive in the Whites’ penalty area, an incident which Keith Hackett believes that Tierney got spot on.
The Ex-PGMOL chief was full of superlatives for the 45-year-old after he cautioned the Spaniard for his attempts to win a spot kick.
- Read More: Steve McManaman raves about ‘brilliant’ Lucas Perri after what he did in Birmingham vs Leeds
What did Hackett say about Birmingham vs Leeds controversy?
Hackett believes that more referees should follow in Tierney‘s footsteps by booking players for simulation.
Speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News, he said: “Paul Tierney is a very experienced referee and takes the appropriate action for a rather poor attempt at an act of simulation to deceive the referee.
“Well done to him for issuing the yellow card. More of his colleagues need to do the same.”
Why Daniel Farke will be furious despite Leeds win
The hosts had the better of the possession, with 55 per cent to the Peacocks’ 45 per cent of the ball, per Sofascore.
The second-tier side also had 18 shots, which was one less than Daniel Farke‘s side’s 19 in the contest, but that was only because the Elland Road side pushed hard for a late winner in extra time.
Lucas Perri was forced to make four saves to keep his side in it, while Ryan Allsop in the Birmingham goal only had to make two in the whole game, even though it went on for 120 minutes.
| Stats | Birmingham | Leeds |
| Possession | 55% | 45% |
| Shots | 18 | 19 |
| Saves | 2 | 4 |
| Corners | 13 | 10 |
The Blues had 13 corners to the Premier League outfit’s 10, and they refused to lie down and allow the visitors to take control of proceedings, despite them being a division above.
Farke did make six changes from the team that 2-2 draw with Chelsea last time out, but he still would have expected the side that he put out to get the job done.
The performance was not good enough, and the top-flight team were lucky to scrape through on penalties in the end, which will not please the German boss.
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