Leeds United went into the international break on a mixed note, with their result against Crystal Palace. That was a drastic shift from what happened when the team played Newcastle.
Daniel Farke said he was happy that his side were able to take a result. In his opinion, the team cannot play beautiful football for 38 games.
Leeds were held to a goalless draw by Pierre Sage’s Palace side.
The Whites went into the international break unbeaten, but not being able to get a win at Elland Road was a bit of a disappointment. Especially as the game followed a 4-1 thrashing.
Farke’s side played their best football this season in that win last week.
Premier League clarifies Leeds United penalty controversy
Referee Michael Salisbury. Credit: IMAGO
Leeds United started the game on fire, putting themselves three goals up before the break.
They were dominant on the night as the away side looked like they had no idea what they were doing. Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored a brace, with Noah Okafor and an own goal from Lewis Miley was enough to walk away with a win.
That Monday night game was not short of a bit of controversy.
The second goal of the game was initially awarded to Jayden Bogle, before a review gave the goal to Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
There were also some contentious incidents in the match like Dominic Calvert-Lewin getting a yellow card for an elbow, and no penalty being awarded for Matias Fernandez-Pardo’s apparent handball.
The Premier League Key Match Incidents panel voted that the referee was right to not award Leeds a penalty for the handball.
“The referee’s call of no penalty for a potential handball offence against Fernandez-Pardo was supported with his arms in an expected position given the bounce of the ball. There was no movement of the arm towards the ball.” they wrote.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s elbow was not a red card offence, with the panel voting 5:0 for the referee’s decision. The panel also voted 4:1 in support of the decision not to award the Magpies a penalty for Tarik Muharemovic’s foul on Harvey Barnes.
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Refereeing has been fair to Leeds this season
Unlike last year, one could argue that this campaign has seen less errors and decisions against Daniel Farke’s side.
Last season was just a sequence of events that cost the club points in crucial games. Red cards to Farke, penalties missed by VAR and other ludicrous decisions could have easily relegated the team.
But it looks like there is more accountability and transparency following decisions.
Fans must hope this continues as the season goes on; poor refereeing can easily derail any team’s campaign.
