Leeds United were left to rue a frustrating night at Elland Road after slipping to a narrow 1–0 defeat against Manchester City on Saturday.
For much of the first half, it was Leeds who looked the sharper side. They pressed with intensity, forced mistakes and carved out the clearer chances, appearing far more likely to open the scoring. But they failed to turn that control into a goal, and were made to pay when City winger Antoine Semenyo struck late in the half to put the visitors in front.
The evening ended on a sour note. Leeds felt they had a strong case for a handball penalty, only for the appeals to be waved away, a decision that sparked fury both on the pitch and in the stands. After the final whistle, head coach Daniel Farke was sent off for confronting referee Peter Bankes, rounding off a night that left the home side feeling hard done by.
However, many felt Manchester City winger Rayan Cherki should have been sent off for stamping on Ilia Gruev, which was missed by the referee and, inexplicably, VAR.
Ex-Referees chief hammers VAR for missing the Manchester City offence against Leeds
Ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett is shocked that VAR missed that offence and wonders whether they got caught up with other things and got confused.
He pointed out that there was no communication that VAR had cleared the instance where Cherki stamped on Gruev, and he is certain that had the referee been asked to look at the monitor, the Manchester City winger would have been sent off.
Hackett told Footall Insider: “I find it difficult… The very nature of VAR is to cover these particular incidents. Where they’re getting confused, just like the public, is that they can only come in on what they consider a ‘red card offence’.
“I suspect that VAR decided it didn’t meet the criteria for a red card, hence no intervention. But that leaves us saying, ‘Where’s VAR?’ There should be a communication that says VAR have checked and is happy.
“We get that on occasion, mostly from commentators, but they don’t say that they have considered it a yellow card. No sanction is applied at all, and it looks daft. There’s no question he was lucky.
“If VAR had told the referee to go to the screen, that would have left him exposed to having to give a red card.”
The Whites haven’t had any luck with referees
Leeds have felt the sting of questionable refereeing decisions more than once this season, but Saturday night seemed to take it to another level. From their perspective, several calls went against them, and it left a real sense of injustice at full-time.
Had Peter Bankes pointed to the spot for the handball appeal, it’s hard to imagine VAR overturning it — it certainly wouldn’t have been viewed as a clear and obvious error.
The stamp on Gruev was even harder to take as VAR didn’t intervene when they should have, and it could have changed the game in Leeds’ favour.
It is no surprise that Farke’s frustrations boiled over at the final whistle, and he was sent off, a decision that has also come under scrutiny since then.
