Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has claimed that West Bromwich Albion should have had a penalty in their game against Leeds United.
The incident occurred in the first-half when the home side were trailing 1-0, and whilst tussling for a corner, Leeds United forward Rodrigo Moreno was involved in a very physical tussle with West Brom’s Callum Robinson, only for the incident to not be acted on by either match referee Lee Mason, or by VAR official Kevin Friend back in Stockley Park.
And speaking exclusively to This Is Futbol, Halsey thinks that it was a pretty obvious shot for a spot-kick from the home side, and that he was amazed it wasn’t given:
“It was clear and obvious because it stops the West Bromwich Albion player challenging for the ball (the defender’s) got his arm right around him. West Brom should have had a penalty, there’s no doubt about that”
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Now given how rampant Leeds United were on the night, this should perhaps be taken with a pinch of salt about whether or not it would have affected the game. If he equalises and makes it 1-1, it could have been different, but the sheer domination probably leans towards the idea that Leeds would still have won handsomely anyway.
At the very least West Brom could claim that the goal difference swing could affect things towards the business end of the season, but it’s pretty safe to say that after that performance, Sam Allardyce probably has more important things on his mind right now.