Jermaine Beckford ‘absolutely embarrassed’ by what he saw in Leeds United loss vs Sunderland
Jermaine Beckford was left furious with the refereeing in Leeds United’s 1-0 defeat to Sunderland on Tuesday.
Habib Diarra scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot, in a frustrating evening for Daniel Farke’s side.
After an underwhelming first half at Elland Road, where both sides created very little, Joe Rodon looked to have given the Whites the lead midway through the second period, but his header was ruled out for offside.
Moments later, Leeds found themselves behind as Ethan Ampadu was punished for handling the ball in his own box and Karl Darlow was unable to keep out Diarra’s spot-kick.
The West Yorkshire outfit pushed hard for a leveller, but eventually succumbed to a second successive defeat in the Premier League.
Leeds denied ‘clear as day’ penalty vs Sunderland
In the early stages of the first half, Leeds thought they should’ve been awarded a penalty after Luke O’Nien hauled Pascal Struijk to the ground.
As Anton Stach delivered a corner into the area, O’Nien grabbed Struijk around the neck, effectively getting the centre-back in a headlock.
However, the incident wasn’t even reviewed by VAR, and play was allowed to continue.
Speaking on TNT Sports, former Leeds striker Beckford was fuming at the officials for not awarding the Whites a spot-kick.
The 42-year-old was bemused that O’Nien hadn’t been punished despite it being ‘as clear as day’, labelling the decision as ‘absolutely embarrassing’.
Beckford said: “I’m so bemused how the officials haven’t given a penalty. It’s as clear as day. O’Nien on Pascal Struijk, arms around the neck, drags him down to the floor.
“How on earth is that not a penalty? It’s absolutely embarrassing.”
Daniel Farke’s referee woes continue at Elland Road
Farke was sent off after the full-time whistle against Manchester City last Saturday, with referee Peter Bankes brandishing the red card as the Leeds boss came over to confront him at full-time.
The Whites were on the wrong end of several controversial decisions during the 1-0 defeat to Pep Guardiola’s side, and the German was looking for answers from the official.
Farke maintains that he did nothing wrong, but he will now have to serve a one-match touchline ban, likely against Norwich City in the FA Cup.
It was a similar situation on Tuesday evening against Sunderland, with Leeds suffering from questionable refereeing twice in the space of four days.
Farke will be less than impressed with the decisions that have gone against his side, as it is preventing them from pulling further away from the relegation zone.
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