Joe Rothwell was involved in controversy as Leeds United beat Norwich City (Credit: Sky Sports Football)

Rothwell controversy: Ex-PGMOL chief furious at Leeds incident 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, 6:40 am

Joe Rothwell's booking for simulation as Leeds United beat Norwich City left ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett furious as he bemoaned the growing issue in football.

The midfielder caused controversy after being cautioned by Matt Donohue when he dived in an attempt to win a penalty during Wednesday's 2-0 win at Elland Road (22 January).

Ultimately, Leeds were comfortable victors anyway and sit top of the table as a result of the three points on home ground.

But Hackett, a former FIFA referee, was left with a sour taste at the incident and praised Donohue for being in the right position to make the call.

Speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News, he said: "Rothwell is not alone and we are witnessing an increase in my opinion of acts of simulation to deceive the referee.

"Players running into the penalty area are attempting to manufacture contact and going to ground far too easily.

"It is good to see a referee in an excellent position to judge this incident. The player went to ground looking to win a penalty kick and was rightly shown a yellow card.

"Sadly we see many incidents where players go to ground the referee indicates no penalty kick and does nothing more.

"I would hope referees are encouraged to sanction where players attempt to cheat."

Joe Rothwell lets himself down as Leeds United beat Norwich

It was a disappointing moment from Rothwell, who has been an excellent performer for high-flying Leeds this season under Daniel Farke.

But nobody wants to see this kind of thing in the game, it was a pretty risible attempt to deceive the official and ultimately a yellow card was warranted.

Leeds United midfielder Joe Rothwell [Credit: Imago]

Obviously, it will do little to take the shine off another important win in Leeds' promotion hunt and it was another game ticked off as they try to secure one of those all-important automatic spots.

However, Farke might want to consider a little word in the ear because it was definitely a moment that will draw rightful derision.

In other Leeds United news, another player "should be banned" for what he did in the win versus Norwich.

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Leeds United

Keith Hackett

Norwich City

Joe Rothwell