Ex-FIFA official speaks out about Leeds United controversy v Sunderland
Former FIFA official Keith Hackett believes “the referee failed” when he didn’t award Leeds United a penalty in the 0-0 draw with Sunderland at Elland Road on Tuesday.
The Whites were denied a clear second-half spot kick by referee Tim Robinson after a handball by Luke O’Nien, with Daniel Farke admitting he was expecting an apology from the league for the decision.
And reacting to the referee’s error on his personal Twitter account (11 April), Hackett believes the assistant should have helped in that situation but both officials failed on this occasion.
“Leeds United have every right to be disappointed not to have been awarded a penalty kick for a clear handball,” the former Premier League and FIFA referee wrote.
“Despite [being] in a good position the referee failed to see the offence, his view sadly blocked. The Assistant should have detected the offence but also failed.”
Will Leeds United be promoted to the Premier League?
The race for promotion at the top of the Championship is absolutely wild this season, with just one point separating the top three teams after midweek results.
But that just leaves a sour taste in the mouths of Leeds fans as a penalty would have been a huge opportunity to score the only goal of the game in a drab affair, and those extra two points would see the Whites top of the table rather than in third.
At this level, it’s those fine margins that can make all the difference, and with just four games remaining there isn’t much time for these things to balance out.
An apology from the league or the officials doesn’t help anyone, but the way VAR has been used in the Premier League at times this season doesn’t offer assurance that things would be different there either.
Ultimately Leeds need to take their chances in games and perform better to get the results they need to go up automatically or face a tough run in the playoffs after having their future in their hands just a few games ago.
In other Leeds news, Luke Ayling and Mateusz Klich have reacted to Stuart Dallas’ retirement announcement.
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