OPINION
Patrick Bamford is surely facing a two-match ban after he appeared to successfully deceive a match official in Leeds United’s 1-1 draw against Aston Villa at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon.
Leeds refused to put the ball out of play when Jonathan Kodjia went down injured in the second-half and when Mateusz Klich scored, Villa players were not at all happy.
MINUTES OF MAYHEM
?? Klich
? Fight
? El Ghazi
?? Adomah (but not if Jansson can help it ?)? Terry vs Bielsa?
It was absolute chaos at Elland Road! Have you ever seen anything like that before?
More: https://t.co/KqbZ3gZyO9 pic.twitter.com/9Y257vWT0l
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) April 28, 2019
After Klich hit the back of the net, players from both sides were involved in a melee which led to Anwar El-Ghazi being sent off.
Sky Sports’ replays attempted to show why El-Ghazi was shown a straight red card by referee Stuart Attwell, but instead it appears as though Bamford went down clutching his face despite there being no contact by the Aston Villa winger.
P.S Patrick Bamford… you’re embarrassing! pic.twitter.com/lsuRAAGIz4
— Sam Quek (@SamanthaQuek) April 28, 2019
El-Ghazi appears to have been sent off because Bamford has tricked the officials into think that he was hit in the face, when replays clearly show that was not the case.
Not only should El-Ghazi’s imminent three-match ban be struck off, but Bamford should also be hit with a two-match suspension because he has successfully deceived the referee.
West Brom forward Dwight Gayle was hit with a two-match ban earlier this season after he dived to win a penalty against Nottingham Forest.
On that occasion, Gayle was barely touched in the penalty area but went down and won his side a penalty that saw them earn a 2-2 draw with Forest.
In Leeds’ draw with Villa, Bamford appears to have done the same thing by getting El-Ghazi sent off with simulation.
The EFL need to come down hard on the former Chelsea and Middlesbrough striker in a bid to stamp out this behaviour.
No one wants to see it in the game and Leeds should be without their £10million summer signing for their clash against Ipswich next week and the first leg of their play-off semi-final.