OPINION
It would be fair to say that Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has divided opinion when it comes to the ethics of football in the Championship this season.
His methods have certainly caught the eye, perhaps most notably with the infamous Spygate saga which saw him scouting opposition training sessions ahead of the two sides meeting.
That was frowned down upon by the English Football League – even if he had not broken any specific rules – and a fine was imposed but he managed to redeem himself to some with his actions against Aston Villa.
The Whites had scored a contentious goal through Mateusz Klich, who netted despite many of the Villa players stopping after Jonathan Kodjia’s supposed injury, with Bielsa ordering his players to allow Dean Smith’s men to go through and score a goal of their own uncontested – a message which got through to all but Pontus Jansson.
With the Championship play-offs around the corner, Bielsa has revealed that there have been talks behind-the-scenes among him and his players and that the decision has been made they will not be kicking the ball out of play under any circumstances for the opposition, instead waiting for the referee to stop the game as are the rules.
He was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying: “The rules says the person who has to take the decision is the ref.
“This has nothing to do with the situation against Aston Villa because we feinted to put the ball out and didn’t. I’m not talking about that. We just want to find a solution to this moment of doubt. We play by the rules but we don’t want to make people disappointed.”
Rules or not, this all comes down to what people deem to be sporting and fair play – and there seems to have become an unwritten rule in English football that players should stop play regardless of what the referee does.
It has perhaps encouraged players to stay down longer in a bid to stop the opposition’s attacks but Leeds have dished out their warning – and if anything like the Aston Villa game happens, the backlash will be just as furious.
Do not expect Bielsa to give a goal away this time around.