Leeds United suffered a tough 1-0 defeat against Burnley at Elland Road this past weekend. The result was particularly hard to take since Burnley is a direct competitor for promotion.
In a closely fought game, Burnley secured their only goal in the 18th minute with a strike from Luca Koleosho. They managed to maintain that lead throughout the match. However, Leeds did have a chance to score during the game.
Although the game was decided by a single goal, there was significant controversy surrounding a missed penalty call. Moreover, there’s disagreement over whether it was a penalty or non-penalty.
During the game, Joe Worrall tackled Manor Solomon, prompting Leeds to appeal for a penalty. Their appeal, however, was turned down. Dermot Gallagher, a former Premier League and FIFA referee, has defended James Bell’s decision not to award Leeds the penalty.
“Brilliant refereeing, because the defender actually gets the ball,” Gallagher said as he analyzed the incident on Sky Sports Ref Watch. “It looks a penalty all day long but he gets the ball. As he comes round here, he gets the ball, it’s a really, really good decision.”
BBC podcaster believes it was a penalty
Simon Rix, the bassist of Kaiser Chiefs, mentioned on the latest episode of the “Don’t Go To Bed Just Yet” podcast that he thinks Daniel Farke’s team should have been given a penalty during the game.
“The worst thing was I was looking at it [the performance] thinking ‘this is OK’ – other than not scoring, the referee and other bits and pieces,” Rix said. “We had shots, we were creating chances and we got loads of the ball.
“The midfielders had a couple of shots, especially [Ethan] Ampadu and Ilia Gruev, but they weren’t hitting the target. So then you’re thinking ‘OK we’re trying harder to score from midfield but, if they aren’t going to score, then there’s no point in trying’. Part of my frustration was the fact that I said at half-time we would score. We did look like we should and we had enough chances.
“I also think the penalty [shot] was probably a penalty. I think if you forensically researched it, you would think maybe it’s not a penalty but, at that point in the game, I just cannot understand why the referee didn’t give it.”
