Ex-referee's verdict on controversial Brentford v Leeds United decision that angered Daniel Farke
Leeds United had a penalty against them overturned after a lengthy VAR check at Brentford.
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes Brentford’s penalty award against Leeds United on Sunday would have been overturned regardless of whether Dango Ouattara was offside.
Leeds defender Gabriel Gudmundsson was penalised for an alleged foul on Ouattara 10 minutes before half-time, with referee John Brooks pointing to the penalty spot. The Swedish international was baffled by the call and replays showed contact on the Brentford winger was minimal as a looped ball went in behind the defensive line.
A lengthy VAR check eventually ruled Ouattara was millimetres offside before being fouled, which automatically cancelled out the penalty decision. But Gallagher also suggested there was enough doubt in the foul for those in Stockley Park to have recommended an on-pitch review, had it been necessary.
“I think it has come to the right outcome,” Gallagher told Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, reflecting on the incident. “I am pretty convinced that if it had been a penalty, he would've been sent to the screen.”
Former Premier League striker Jay Bothroyd was in agreement, insisting there was not enough contact for Brooks to have initially awarded the penalty. He said: “Yes it's offside, but I don't even think it's a foul.
“He felt his arms on him. He's looking for the penalty, he's already going down. He is offside by a very tight margin, but ultimately, the right decision has come because of it. If you're giving that, you're going to be giving penalties all the time.”
Daniel Farke’s angry reaction to penalty call
While the right outcome was eventually reached, Daniel Farke was also far from happy with the decision when speaking in his post-match interview. The Leeds boss lamented the fact his side had to rely on such a tight offside call to get them out of jail, having been unjustly put in trouble by the referee’s decision.
"We haven't allowed any chances other than the gift the referee wanted to present Brentford and we were relying on a 1cm offside from VAR," Farke said. "I'm always on the side of the referee, I know John Brooks wanted to be there with his best decisions. Today I don't like the level of consistency.
“We have the toughest league, then we give such a soft penalty away without even thinking about it. Even when you cross your fingers for Brentford, you see the ball goes six yards over the offensive player, he can't reach it and just goes down. Then we have to wait for five minutes for VAR to rule it out with a 1cm VAR.
“The same player in the 95th minute, when Joe Rodon is blocked away and you say 'come on play on' and you can concede. I want to see how we would talk about it had we lost from the penalty or this decision. I'm not annoyed with my players, but today as much as I like John normally, he's an excellent referee, the level of consistency was not spot on."