Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has slammed Ezgjan Alioski for his “horrible” conduct in trying to win Leeds United a penalty by diving in their 1-0 win against Reading on Tuesday night.
Alioski threw himself to the ground in the penalty area shortly before half-time of the Elland Road clash even though Royals defender Tiago Ilori failed to make any kind of contact with him.
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How do you rate this effort by Leeds United forward Ezgjan Alioski? ?
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Referee Mike Dean was not fooled by the simulation and instantly booked the Macedonia international, who drew condemnation from co-commentator.
OPINION
Goodman’s straight talking does not always curry favour with Leeds fans but the ex-striker was certainly spot on by digging out Alioski for his embarrassing behaviour against Reading, which correctly incurred a yellow card for the most blatant dive you will ever see. It certainly does not help the attacking midfielder that he is on a run of rotten form in which his place in the starting XI of the Championship promotion hopefuls is being regularly questioned. Marcelo Bielsa made clear his distaste for Alioski’s dive and all-round performance against Reading by hauling him off at half-time and replacing him with rising star Jack Clarke, a measure that could be repeated at the weekend, when Leeds will aim to secure a third consecutive league triumph. Alioski could end up learning the hard way that throwing yourself to the ground when an opposition’s boot is not in the same postcode is not the smartest thing to do.