Dermot Gallagher reacts to Leeds United controversy live on Sky Sports
The 30-year-old striker took the Whites the lead against Rotherham United in just ten minutes, but it seemed like he used his elbow to get the goal on replays.
The Millers were defeated 3-0 by Crysencio Summerville’s brace, thus the handball probably had no bearing on the outcome of the match, but it still ought to have been written off.
The former referee simply muttered, “Handball,” during his analysis of the event on Monday, February 12 on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch. This caused a lot of amusement in the studio.
Leeds United profit from Patrick Bamford moment
Many will argue that, given that Rotherham had been playing with their heads down following the first goal, the goal had every possibility of turning the tide of the match.
Though Summerville, Georginio Rutter, and Wilfried Gnonto all posed a threat to Viktor Johansson’s goal, it is highly likely that Leeds’ talent would have eventually shown through.There will be two very obvious sides to this story. The first is sportsmanship—should Bamford have lived up to it? Possibly. But as a goalscorer, he must take every chance he comes across, even if that means breaking a rule or two.
Second, the purpose of the fourth officials and referees is to identify these situations. They are paid to do that, and it would be hard to hold the Leeds forward responsible for their error of judgement.Even if the celebration with his elbow might have been a little excessive, it makes sense.
Bamford has finally found his groove at Elland Road after a dismal start to the season under Daniel Farke. In all competitions, he has scored five goals and assisted two more.
In related article:
After so many decisions going against them this season, the German also asserted that his team was likely due for one. However, Townsend countered that every coach feels that “we were due one,” pointing out that there must be some teams out there who have “had a few” go their way.
McCoist remarked, “I’ll just let Daniel know; you don’t have to watch it again.” “That’s the most obvious handball you’ll ever see.”
“Is he not selling it?” Townsend was added. “He sprints towards the supporters and makes a gesture with his elbow, seemingly indicating that he just struck someone with his arm. “We were due one,” is a statement made by every coach without exception. Hold on, a few coaches have to be here.
Not a good look for Patrick Bamford or Leeds United
It’s no secret that because of some of his past actions, Bamford has always caused division among many supporters, not only at Leeds but across the nation.
Ultimately, this amounted to outright cheating from the start, and it’s definitely not something that players want to see occur in the game.
Even since the Whites’ promotion bid is so important, it was awful of the officials to not see the incident in real time and to argue that the goal was incorrect.
The crowd would have been understandably incensed that the goal was allowed to stand if that scenario had occurred on the other end.
Even while there’s a fair possibility the outcome wouldn’t have changed if the goal hadn’t been added, it still doesn’t feel right when something like that occurs.