Stan Collymore has defended Leeds after the incredible scenes at Elland Road on Sunday, during their Championship game against Aston Villa.
With a Villa man down injured, Leeds decided to play on and Mateusz Klich scored, which sparked a mass brawl during which Anwar El Ghazi was sent off.
Patrick Bamford threw himself to the ground and replays confirmed that El Ghazi hadn’t touched him.
After some deliberation, Marcelo Bielsa ordered Leeds to let Aston Villa score from the kick-off.
Writing on Twitter, Collymore said that the referee should have stopped play but that it’s not any of the opposing players’ responsibility to kick the ball out.
“1. The whistle is the stop in the game. Nothing else.
“2. Bielsa actions. Commendable. 3. Bamford. Shithouse.”
Collymore followed this up with a plea for a change to the rules that would protect all injured players.
Leeds v Villa
1. Referee not stopping play = woeful decision. But not ANY player's responsibility to stop play regardless of whether opposition team did it previously. The whistle is the stop in the game. Nothing else.
2. Bielsa actions. Commendable. ??
3. Bamford. Shithouse.
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) April 28, 2019
Any player even without an injury could have a compound fracture where the bone snaps in two. A career ender.
The current rule should simply amend for ALL players safety to..
"When a player us in obvious distress"
Protects everyone.
Play on when injured? Unacceptable. https://t.co/001EgKezUo
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) April 28, 2019
OPINION
This is absolutely spot on by Collymore. There was a lot of hysteria from both sides yesterday but when the dust had settled this is how we saw it. Leeds should have played to the whistle and Pontus Jansson was obviously thinking the same way when he was the only one who seemingly disobeyed Bielsa’s orders to let Villa score. What Bielsa did is commendable in a sport that desperately needs sporting actions like this to be seen around the world. With automatic promotion still feasibly on the line, this was a huge decision. As for Patrick Bamford, it’s impossible to forgive what he did. The provocation was that several Aston Villa players had reacted terribly to the goal – and perhaps more should have been booked and possibly even sent off. But you can’t feign injury like this in this day and age and expect to get away with it. He was booked for his part in the fracas so he may escape any further action but it depends what that was for. With Kemar Roofe out injured, the last thing Leeds need is any more players out.