Coventry City player explodes with six-word insult at ref in Leeds United loss
Leeds United strolling to a 2-0 victory at Coventry City on Wednesday led to frustrations boiling over for one of the hosts’ players.
The Whites had already taken their two-goal lead just 26 minutes into the contest at the CBS Arena in their Championship clash, spurning several other chances to replicate their 7-0 mauling of Cardiff City.
However, Daniel Farke’s side still went five points clear at the summit despite not putting Coventry to the sword as they did Cardiff, but the chasm between the two sides still caused frustration for the hosts.
Head coach Frank Lampard unsurprisingly drew the ire of the away end and was goaded into a response which could land him in hot water, but on the pitch, Coventry’s players didn’t hold back either.
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There were only four minutes left on the clock at the CBS Arena when opening goalscorer Joel Piroe was withdrawn for Mateo Joseph up front, but his route off the pitch left Joel Latibeaudiere enraged.
Reporting for the Yorkshire Evening Post (6 February), Graham Smyth spotted Latibeaudiere lashing out at referee Dean Whitestone as he failed to make Piroe leave the pitch via the shortest route available.
Latibeaudiere reportedly yelled: “You’re so bad at your job”, right into the face of the referee.
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Having been well beaten on the night and seen their own impressive run of form come to a screeching halt thanks to Daniel Farke’s in-form Peacocks, Coventry likely haven’t heard the last of this game.
Lampard’s post-match gestures to the away end certainly won’t be looked upon lightly by the EFL and other footballing authorities, while Latibeaudiere could also find himself in trouble for his actions.
Whitestone’s performance could hardly be classed as ‘good’, given he didn’t award the Whites a clear penalty after Brenden Aaronson was wiped out in the box and Junior Firpo’s late goal was ruled out.
In that sense, Whitestone arguably kept the scoreline respectable enough for Coventry to potentially find their way back into the contest, denying the visitors two opportunities which could have made it 4-0.
Latibeaudiere’s late outburst was a clear sign of frustration after the Sky Blues were outclassed on all fronts by United, seeing their four-game winning run snapped in half by a side still in second gear.
The FA and EFL could have a field day after some of Coventry’s conduct, but with another routine win on the board, Leeds won’t be paying them too much attention.