Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has looked at all the key decisions from Leeds United’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal, as per LeedsLive.
The game was littered with incidents from the start, goals disallowed, penalties awarded and red cards rescinded. So, what did Gallagher make of the officiating, and did referee Chris Kavanagh and VAR get the decisions right? Firstly, was Patrick Bamford’s disallowed goal when he was adjudged to have pushed Gabriel out of the way before he fired past Aaron Ramsdale in the Arsenal goal.
Speaking on Sky Sports ref watch, he said, “I thought it was a foul, when you see it, it is hard to say it is not a foul. The interesting thing is he [Bamford] has pointed to his chest there, to say it’s not handball I think he said to the referee. You see there he quite clearly pushes him, without VAR that would not have been given.”
Then what followed was the handball that led to the Leeds penalty. Some believed it shouldn’t have been awarded as Rasmus Kristensen appeared to be in an offside position in the build-up, but Gallagher clarified, “This is the first one I talked about, I think it is handball. Not given on the field, but given by VAR. If the VAR wasn’t in play, it would not have been given. The referee’s decision would’ve been play on but you see quite clearly, it’s not just that his arm has hit the ball, but he’s moved towards it. Penalty for me.”
“He {Kristensen] is offside in the build-up, but I think it goes on too long. The ball goes back, gets recycled, they talk about second phase, they talk about re-setting up, it takes too long so they don’t go back that far. It didn’t lead directly to the penalty but there has to be a point where they say reset.”
Dermot Gallagher talks through three key decisions from Leeds United's chaotic defeat to Arsenal#lufc https://t.co/O1mzZOm59r
— Leeds United Live (@liveleedsunited) October 17, 2022
The madness continued as deep into stoppage time Leeds were then awarded another penalty after a kick out from Gabriel on Bamford, which saw the Brazilian sent off. After consulting VAR, Arsenal were awarded a free-kick due to a push by Bamford, with Gabriel’s red card swapped for a yellow.
Gallagher said, “I think it did, it’s a really interesting incident because the referee doesn’t give anything.”
“If you watch the assistant, he says to him I think he’s kicked out violently, so it’s got to be a penalty as well because the ball is in play. He gives a penalty and a red card, but you see quite clearly that he [Bamford] has committed a foul.”
“You then see the leg come up, it’s petulant, it’s unsporting but it’s not violent. When he goes to the TV monitor, VAR has said to have a look at it. I think ultimately the right decision has been made. I would also say without that, Arsenal could’ve possibly lost two points if that penalty had been scored and they would’ve certainly lost a player for three matches.”
What do fans think, did the officials get the decisions correct? Let us know in the comments.
If it was not a penalty AND a red card then what IS the rule regarding this? Surely if VAR and the ref decide no penalty,free kick to Arsenal then so be it. But to then show a YELLOW card to the Arsenal player,it surely has to be a penalty or free kick to Leeds.