Gary Rowett ‘fed up’ after Leeds United controversy v West Brom
Gary Rowett has admitted he is “fed up” with seeing strikers win penalties easily as he offered his verdict on a controversial call during the clash between Leeds United and West Brom.
Daniel Farke’s side tasted back-to-back defeats as they returned from The Hawthorns empty-handed on Friday 29 December, with Grady Diangana’s first half the difference between the two sides as the Baggies ran out 1-0 winners.
However, Leeds felt they should have had at least one penalty in the opening 45 minutes as both Wilfried Gnonto and Georginio Rutter were brought down in the box, but Rowett wasn’t convinced either challenge warranted a spot-kick.
Speaking on Sky Sports Main Event (29 December, 21:10) he said: “At first instance, it looked like a good tackle, I mean, does he just get a little bit of contact with the ball? He certainly has contact with Rutter before.
“I’m fed up with all these penalties going the way of attackers, but again I’m not sure that’s clear enough to give a penalty.”
Unlucky
It seems ridiculous that Leeds United weren’t awarded at least one penalty during their clash with the Baggies on Friday. Both Rutter and Gnonto should have been awarded spot kicks and neither decision appeared to be too contentious.
The one on Rutter that Rowett was analysing was slightly harder to award as Ajayi did appear to get some contact on the ball and only the reverse angle showed that the West Brom defender actually caught Rutter’s trailing leg first.
Normally, these sorts of decisions even themselves up over the course of a Championship season but in the last few weeks it has felt like nearly every call has gone against the Whites. When a team is struggling, it can feel like the world is against them and that’s the exact case currently at Elland Road.
However, given the attacking talent at Farke’s disposal, Leeds should be scoring more goals without relying on a helping hand from referees. They may have been hard done by at The Hawthorns, but they were far from their best in the clash.
In other Leeds United news, Andy Hinchcliffe was blown away by an “incredible” moment from Djed Spence against the Baggies