Coventry v Leeds United off-camera incident ‘typifies concern’ in English football
Leeds United departed Coventry with all three points on Wednesday night, but not without several moments of controversy.
Off the back of the win against Coventry, feelings are high and Leeds are well on their way to achieving their ultimate goal of promotion back to the Premier League.
A 2-0 scoreline flattered the hosts, with several instances of poor finishing to blame for Leeds, but they did indeed have a third goal ruled out in a horrendous refereeing decision.
It wasn’t just Leeds who felt hard done by in the game, with Coventry City’s Joel Latibeaudiere allegedly shouting “you’re so bad at your job” into the face of the referee [Graham Smyth].
It’s hard to disagree.
What has happened to officiating in England?
This isn’t just a concern in the Championship, or EFL for that matter – it even spreads into the Premier League, arguably the best league in the world.
Refereeing standards have dropped significantly in English football, and teams are forced to face the brunt of those decisions on a weekly basis. Thankfully for Leeds United, the decision to rule out a third proved to be somewhat irrelevant in the end.
However, poor decisions are being made consistently, leaving fans frustrated, and that appears to be spilling into the players and understandably so.
Often, teams have to put an extra 10 per cent into a game just to right a wrong made through no fault of their own, and things need to change.
Leeds United fortunate not to rue refereeing error
Quite frankly, the offside call for the goal was horrendous and came about 30 seconds after the ball went into the back of the net.
Perhaps the biggest concern in the Championship is that fans are left in the dark as to what has happened, with officials not required to offer any explanation.
Based on player reactions, it seems like they aren’t offered much explanation on the pitch either and it’s a huge, huge issue in English football.
Results are often determined in one moment, and if referees aren’t capable of making the right decision, it can prove rather costly.