Leeds United

Leeds United: Sky Sports man claims VAR decision was correct in penalty controversy

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Image for Leeds United: Sky Sports man claims VAR decision was correct in penalty controversy

Leeds United were correctly denied a penalty at the weekend after the coming-together between Rasmus Kristensen and Jose Sa.

This has been suggested by former referee Dermot Gallagher, who has been speaking about the VAR decisions over the weekend on Sky Sports News’ Ref Watch.

Jesse Marsch’s men got off the mark on Saturday with three points to their name, having come from behind to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers at Elland Road.

However, the Whites may feel hard done by after a penalty call was not given by referee Robert Jones or Jarred Gillett, who was the VAR assistant from Stockley Park.

But whilst speaking on Sky Sports News, Gallagher believes there would be outrage among those in the Premier League if the referee or VAR had awarded Leeds with the penalty.

He said: “What I’m saying is if the referee next week gives a penalty for that, there’ll be uproar, because they’ll say, ‘we’ve seen this for season after season and we haven’t seen a penalty’.

“That’s a typical goalkeeper’s challenge that very, very rarely gets punished in England or in Europe.”

TIF Thoughts on Gallagher’s comments…

Clinton Morrison even said that he was stunned that the penalty wasn’t given, which led to him losing faith with VAR in the Premier League.

We find it incredibly difficult to see where Gallagher is coming from with these comments, as we think there is more than enough evidence to give the penalty.

Do you agree with Gallagher's verdict?

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Sa made no contact with the ball and arrived late to challenge for the cross, so with this in mind, it is difficult for us to understand how the incident can be viewed as anything other than a penalty.

What this does say, though, is that goalkeepers have the freedom to clatter into players in the air without being penalised for their clumsiness.

Hypothetically speaking, had Sa wiped a Leeds player out who was bearing down on his goal with the ball at his feet, it would surely have been a penalty – so why was it not when the ball was in the air?

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