Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has been sharing his thoughts on Leeds United attacker Tyler Roberts and his tackle on Chelsea midfielder Jorginho that saw him get a yellow card during the recent 0-0 draw between the two teams over the weekend.
Speaking exclusively to This Is Futbol, Halsey was asked what his thoughts were on the tackle from the Welshman on the Chelsea midfielder.
In response, Halsey had this to say on the matter.
He said: “It wasn’t violent conduct; you knew it straightaway. It’s just his follow-through and he’s gone onto the back of his calf so for me, in that instance it’s not violent conduct, I think the yellow card was correct.
“I think that had it been a serious situation, VAR would have got involved in that situation.”
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During the game at Elland Road against the west London club, Roberts came close to opening the scoring after he struck the bar with a shot that Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy got a touch too.
Considering how Roberts had more shots on target (2) against Chelsea than any other Leeds player on the day did, this shows that he was certainly one of their biggest goal threats in the game (per WhoScored).
In regards to Halsey’s comments on Roberts’ tackle on Jorginho, it’s good to hear that Halsey and the referee at Elland Road didn’t believe that there was any intention from the Leeds man to hurt Jorginho and could now probably be put down as a challenge that may have looked worse than it actually was, certainly with slow-motion replays too.
Moving forward, despite managing to pick up a point against Thomas Tuchel’s side, Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa will now be looking ahead to their next league game against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Friday night and focusing on picking up all three points this time around.