Premier League make official announcement on Leeds United vs Liverpool controversy
Leeds United were awarded a penalty in their clash with Liverpool on Saturday.
Leeds secured a memorable point at home to Liverpool on Saturday afternoon, in a game that had a very strange flow to it at Elland Road.
The Whites started brightly, but two goals in two minutes from Hugo Ekitike gave the Reds an early second-half lead and then a cushion.
However, the Whites struck back with two goals in two minutes themselves, with one of them coming in controversial circumstances, before scoring again in stoppage time to secure a 3-3 draw.
Ibrahima Konate penalised for foul on Willy Gnonto
With Noah Okafor on the pitch, Leeds never looked as though they were going to get anything in the game, but changes from Daniel Farke made a huge impact.
Willy Gnonto was introduced, and less than 10 minutes later, he was fouled in the penalty area by Ibrahima Konate, who has a tendency to be clumsy in the box.
Gnonto looked to cross the ball, but a shoulder feint invited the challenge from Konate, with Gnonto evidently taken out.
Anthony Taylor waved the penalty away initially, but a VAR check saw him change his mind, with the Premier League releasing a statement to explain the decision.
“After VAR review, the referee overturned the original decision of no penalty to Leeds United,” a statement shared via X says.
“Referee announcement: “Liverpool No.5 makes a careless challenge – the ball is in play, therefore my final decision is penalty kick.”
Willy Gnonto shows why he must start for Leeds
Farke, even in the Championship, seemed to have a weird agenda against Gnonto, with the Italian quite often named on the bench.
More often than not, he would come on and have a positive impact, and then once again be named on the bench the following week.
While he didn’t directly get an assist against Liverpool, his impact was huge, and he simply has to start for Leeds going forward.
If Leeds are to make the most of the spells they so often have, they need their best attackers on the pitch, and there is a strong case to be made for Gnonto being that player.
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