OPINION
Leeds lost 2-1 to Stoke on Saturday, but stayed top of the Championship despite Norwich winning, and fans were up in arms about the performance of referee Gavin Ward on Twitter.
They weren’t happy when he sent off Pontus Jansson for two bookable offences, and they were incredulous after a fan posted a video of a Stoke free kick, with Ward seemingly pushing the Leeds players back way beyond 10 yards.
The 10 yards is always at the referee’s discretion, but it does seem that Ward takes them over and above the regulation distance, with several Leeds players pointing this out at the time.
Leeds fans are developing a bunker mentality at the moment, with a number of key decisions seeming to go against them this year, Pontus Jansson being banned for a game after a post-match interview gone wrong, and EFL and FA investigations currently underway after the Marcelo Bielsa spying scandal broke.
They’ll be looking to use that to their advantage over the rest of the season, making home matches as electric and as hostile to opponents as they can.
One fan called for Ward to be banned after his performance on Saturday, while many others piled on to say what he did was a disgrace.
Here are the best reactions from fans to the free-kick incident from Saturday:
https://twitter.com/adzng5/status/1087038048859287553
Good job he isn’t an estimator for a carpet company
— steve marsham (@stevemarsham) January 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/leeco25/status/1087043718128041984
Absolutely shocking. As was Jansson’s second yellow.
— TheVeganFox (@yogicteadrinker) January 20, 2019
Saw that yesterday too mate. @Tezmoore_Lufc told you it was nearer 15!
— Graham Moore ?? (@Graymooreleeds) January 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/nettle64/status/1087124547315396614
Wow Christ almighty.
— Pete ? Psycho Killer ???????? (@BadgeSmiley) January 20, 2019
I think the @EFL don’t want us going up cause we make so much money for them. Imagine the loss they’ll get if we went to the premier league. They are doing everything in their power to keep us
— Andrew Fraser (@Andyfraser86) January 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/scotttownend2/status/1087087249563500545
I counted 11 moon jumps there pic.twitter.com/WO4i9xBc0f
— Thackary Binx (@riley652799) January 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/TomChilds1/status/1087084980021485569