Ex-Premier League referee's definitive verdict on two key Leeds United incidents vs Aston Villa
Leeds United saw key decisions go for and against them during Sunday's Premier League defeat at home to Aston Villa.
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has applauded the decision to allow Lukas Nmecha’s goal against Aston Villa during Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
Nmecha opened the scoring inside eight minutes at Elland Road on Sunday after Ezri Konsa’s goal-line clearance ricocheted off his leg and into the net. Gabriel Gudmundsson hooked Sean Longstaff’s free-kick back into a dangerous area and Anton Stach initially rose highest to beat Emi Martinez to the ball, his header cleared by Konsa but only into the Leeds striker.
There was a lengthy delay to celebrations as VAR checked three separate incidents, with offside decisions needed on Gudmundsson and Nmecha in the build-up. Villa also wanted a free-kick for what they felt was a foul on Martinez by Stach, but the goal was eventually given and Gallagher believes it was the correct call.
“I think one thing to be applauded is the fact we’ve seen this kind of decision at Old Trafford on the opening day of the season,” Gallagher told Sky Sports. “The referees have been hard and fast on this, that they will allow the goalkeeper to be challenged as long as he's not impeded. The offside itself, he's not offside so that wasn't a problem. Going back to the goalkeeper, they've said no.”
Former striker Jay Bothroyd agreed the goal was correctly given. He said: “I've been completely consistent from the beginning, I think we both have to be honest. When you look at this one, the attacker in that scenario has jumped way before and he's jumped up, used his arms to get up, his arms haven't made contact with the goalkeeper.
“He jumped early and Martinez, he’s a top ‘keeper, but he needs to anticipate that and take the ball at the highest point which he hasn't done. That's why he conceded the goal but it certainly wasn't a free-kick. The rules are the rules, the precedent has been set, ‘keepers need to be stronger.”
Ex-referee on Leeds United’s disallowed goal
Leeds held onto that early lead until half-time but conceded three minutes after the break, with substitute Donyell Malen allowed too much space to find scorer Morgan Rogers. The attacking midfielder grabbed his second of the game mid-way through the second-half with a dipping free-kick, having seen Pascal Struijk foul Ross Barkley.
That goal dampened the atmosphere inside Elland Road but it fired back up when Dan James looked to have levelled almost instantly. The Leeds substitute got on the end of a long Joe Rodon ball and his effort squeezed beyond Martinez and into the net, albeit celebrations were cut short.
Replays showed James’ effort deflected off the hand of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with Premier League rules stating any use of the hand when scoring - be it accidental or on purpose - should be penalised. The goal was therefore ruled out and Leeds were unable to find the net again.
“The answer here is the minute we see the replay we knew it would be disallowed,” Gallagher said of the incident. “Whether you like the rules or not, if there are hard and fast rules, we might not like it but we accept it.”