Leeds United once again found themselves embroiled in refereeing controversy during Tuesday night’s 1-0 home defeat against Sunderland, with another dramatic evening at Elland Road following closely on from the contentious clash with Manchester City.
Just after the hour mark, Joe Rodon thought he had broken the deadlock for Leeds, but his celebrations were cut short when the goal was ruled out for a very tight offside. Only minutes later, the mood inside the stadium shifted once more as Sunderland were awarded a penalty after VAR determined that Ethan Ampadu had handled the ball inside the box. Unsurprisingly, the focus quickly turned towards the officials.
For the second successive home game, the referee ended up dominating the post-match discussion, much to the frustration of those in the Leeds camp. However, the controversy was not limited to the second half.
Leeds United vs Sunderland – Match Stats 
| Leeds United | Stat | Sunderland |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Shots | 4 |
| 5 | Shots on Target | 1 |
| 70% | Possession | 30% |
| 528 | Passes | 245 |
| 85% | Pass Accuracy | 64% |
| 16 | Fouls | 20 |
However, ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett has claimed that referee Stuart Atwell also missed a glaring incident that should have resulted in the sending off of a Sunderland star.
Sunderland star Habib Diarra deserved a red for against Leeds United
Diarra scored from the penalty spot, which ultimately led to Sunderland stealing three points from Elland Road on Tuesday night.
However, Hackett insisted that the Sunderland star should have seen a second yellow card for his celebrations, where he jumped into the away end.
He stressed on the rules and believes Atwell should have followed the letter of the law and produced a second yellow card for Diarra as his celebrations could have caused an injury.
Hackett told Football Insider: “The reason the law was introduced in terms of goal celebration was to avoid exactly the type of incident that we see here.
“A player, having scored a goal, wishing to celebrate, goes over the top and stands on the perimeter fencing.
“This was a yellow card, which would have been a second yellow and red.
“The reason it’s an offence is the fact that going towards the spectators, jumping onto the fence, creates the possibility of a crowd surge and injury.
“He was very, very fortunate that referee Stuart Atwell ignored the celebrations and did not take action.”
The Black Cats took the ‘dark arts’ a bit too far
Sunderland ensured that it was a scrappy affair, and Steve McManaman accused them of doing everything necessary to disrupt the flow of the game.
The ball was actually in play for just over 50 minutes during the clash between Leeds and Sunderland, barely half of the total allotted time once stoppages were included.
Much of that was down to Sunderland’s approach, with the visitors responsible for more than 31 minutes of stoppages, compared to Leeds’ 23. It was clear that Régis Le Bris’ side was intent on turning the contest into a scrappy, stop-start affair.
For Leeds, the defeat means they have now suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since November, and both results have been overshadowed by some highly debatable refereeing decisions.
