Joe Ellis

Mon 9 May 2022 22:10, UK

Leeds United slipped into the relegation zone on Sunday (8 May) as they suffered a 2-1 defeat away to Arsenal at The Emirates Stadium.

Things were already looking difficult after former Whites player Eddie Nketiah had scored twice inside the first 10 minutes but the speed bump became a mountain soon after.

Usually reliable defender Luke Ayling launched himself into an unnecessary tackle on Gabriel Martinelli and, after a VAR check, was shown a straight red card and Jesse Marsch’s side could not recover despite Diego Llorente pulling one goal back in the second half.

Former FIFA referee Dermot Gallagher could have no complaints at the decision that was eventually reached and thinks the VAR process worked a treat.

“Definitely (the right decision). The process is perfect as the referee [Chris Kavanagh], for whatever reason, does not see this angle of the speed he is coming in, he certainly does not see the two-footed tackle,” he said on Sky Sports.

“You see him going across the ground like he does, he is out of control, there is no way he can stop himself.

“It is a dangerous tackle anyhow, when Chris is sent to the screen, he does not take long to look as the VAR [John Brooks] has said, ‘look, in my opinion, you need to look at this again, I think it is a bad tackle, he has gone two-footed, he is out of control.’

“The referee has looked, it does not take much of a second look to see the second angle from behind, red card for me.”

Idiotic

Ayling’s season is now done entirely because there is absolutely no way the club can appeal such a terrible tackle and win the battle.

Such a dramatic brain fade in the Premier League we may have never seen and Marsch will be asking some serious questions of the defensive regular back at Thorp Arch if he didn’t while in London.

A stern manager would have made him find his own way back to Yorkshire and left him in London to fend for himself.

The 48-year-old American can’t even call upon Cody Drameh to replace him in the lineup despite Cardiff’s Championship season ending as the loan deal carries him all the way until the playoffs are over, regardless of the Bluebirds’ lack of participation in them.

Ayling now has a lot of time to ponder what he did in the capital at the weekend and he needs to return next season with a real fire in his belly to keep his place in the squad.

In other Leeds United news, Ivan Toney has been goading Whites supporters on Twitter and plenty have taken the bait.