Leeds United: BBC man in ‘Mental’ verdict on Georginio Rutter incident v Bristol City
Jonny Buchan branded it “mental” that Georginio Rutter may have been denied a penalty for Leeds United at Bristol City based on events earlier in the game.
Speaking on Don’t Go To Bed Just Yet on 5 February that BBC journalist reacted to Kaiser Chiefs bassist Simon Rix’s explanation for the Whites forward being ignored when felled in the box by George Tanner during the 1-0 win on 2 February, in a decision branded “awful” by Sky Sports pundit Troy Deeney (2 February, 8.56pm).
Rix suggested that the official, Stephen Martin, assumed Rutter had gone down looking for spot kick based on an earlier coming together with keeper Max O’Leary.
Rix said (12m 50s): “Definitely with the pen, Georgie gets the ball, the defender takes him out. I think it was because earlier in the game the keeper had taken Georgie out a bit and it wasn’t a pen.”
“Yeah, when he jumped over the back of him,” Buchan replied, while Adam Pope agreed, “Yeah, it wasn’t a pen, that.”
Rix continued: “And the ref’s gone, ‘I think he’s just trying win one and get a pen’.”
Buchan responded: “Which is mental, none of that should come into it. The ref should just decide, is that a penalty or not?”
Rutter denied decision as Leeds United defeat Bristol City
It is virtually impossible for any refereeing decision not to cause outrage for one side or another in the current climate of scrutiny of officials, but Rutter not getting a penalty for a foul as he ran onto a short pass from Patrick Bamford looked an obvious error.
Andy Hinchcliffe decided to justify what seemed a clear mistake on the match commentary by also claiming that the Leeds United forward was “looking to go down” [Leeds Live, 4 February].
Whether he was or not the Frenchman was kicked over, and while every decision is supposed to be made in isolation it would be incredibly naive not to believe prior incidents don’t factor into the judgement of officials.
The Whites ultimately came away with the victory anyway thanks to Willy Gnonto’s only goal of the game so it didn’t change the outcome.
Daniel Farke’s side are on the march again, sitting in third a point behind Southampton who have a game in hand, with the automatic promotion places definitely on the table.
Another long trip to Plymouth is up next in the FA Cup before four more crucial Championship fixtures in February in the fight to get back to the Premier League.
In other Leeds United news, an Elland Road loanee has already indicated he wants a permanent deal according to Phil Hay.
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