Credit: Sky Sports, Imago

Josh Edwards

Mon 27 April 2026 10:15, UK

Dermot Gallagher saw no reason for Dominic Calvert-Lewin to be sent off for Leeds United in their FA Cup defeat to Chelsea.

The Whites’ remarkable FA Cup journey came to an end on Sunday, with Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win at Wembley.

Leeds had chances to win the game, but failed to take them, which did nothing but showcase the gulf in quality.

However, the defeat wasn’t without plenty of controversy yet again, with Calvert-Lewin front and centre of the most talked-about incident.

Chelsea wanted Calvert-Lewin sent off for a hair pull on Marc Cucurella, but after reviewing the footage, Gallagher disagreed.

Was Dominic Calvert-Lewin fortunate vs Chelsea?

It depends on how you look at it. After Lisandro Martinez’s red card, ironically on Calvert-Lewin, the comparison is certainly there to be made.

However, as rightfully pointed out by Gallagher, there is a clear difference between a hair pull and a tangle in a duel, which was more of the case at Wembley.

Cucurella did himself no favours with the way he went to the floor, but Gallagher believes that VAR got the decision right in the end, but warned of potential future incidents.

Via Sky Sports Ref Watch, he said: “I’m not convinced he pulled his hair. He might have just brushed against it, but we’ve gone way overboard with this now.

“Every single incident where somebody’s near somebody’s hair, it’s ‘oh he’s pulled his hair’. 

“You’ve got to be sure. We don’t want red cards thrown about like we’re in a casino. It’s got to have an impact, a reason and a purpose, and it’s got to be for an offence.”

Calvert-Lewin remains Leeds talking point away from the controversy

Had it not been for his goals earlier in the season, Leeds would have been relegated almost certainly, and for that, he deserves praise.

But his goals have dried up signficantly recently, with the Englishman having failed to score from open play since 6 February, with his most recent one after that back in December.

Daniel Farke is showing faith in him by picking him in the starting 11, but with safety not yet confirmed, there’s a case to be made that Leeds need to try something different for the final four games of the season.

Lukas Nmecha’s inclusion remaisn the most obvious option, but Farke has several other attacking outlets he can utilise, and that time may be upon us.