Dermot Gallagher breaks down Leeds United vs Brighton penalty incident involving Jaka Bijol
The Leeds United defender wanted a first-half penalty during Sunday's Elland Road win over Brighton.
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has suggested Leeds United could have had a penalty against Brighton on Sunday if a first-half Jaka Bijol header was goalbound.
Leeds defender Bijol was calling for a spot-kick after his header hit the arm of a Brighton defender. Referee Michael Oliver waved play on and a VAR review adjudged the experienced referee did not make a clear and obvious error.
The Whites went onto win the game 1-0, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin pouncing on a defensive error to score in the 95th minute. There was little furore about the penalty incident but it was analysed by former referee Gallagher on Monday.
“I think quite rightly not given,” he initially told Sky Sports’ Ref Watch. “If you look, the ball goes over his head, his arm is in a natural position when jumping. It’s headed from a yard or so away and hits him on the back of the arm.
“Short of cutting his arms off, you can’t avoid it and also, he's not looking. He’s got his back to the ball and has no intention of handling that ball.”
Replays showed the Brighton man was making a clear attempt to head the ball and did not look back once it had gone over his head and found Bijol. The arm was out to his side but deemed in a natural position when stretching to jump.
Former striker Jay Bothroyd also believed the correct outcome was reached at Elland Road. But he questioned whether a goalbound effort from Bijol might have been different - and it drew an interesting response from Gallagher.
Leeds United penalty question draws interesting response
“I agree with that,” Bothroyd added. “When you look at the defender he’s always looking at the ball, he’s jumping backwards.
“That’s literally how your arms would be. But one thing I would ask, if Bijol headed the ball towards goal and it hit his hand, what would be the decision?”
To which Gallagher responded: “He’d have a different decision to make but because of where it is. I think the referee has made the right decision.
“I think if it’s headed towards goal, the referee has definitely got a decision to make because he’d say ‘that’s on target so I can give a penalty’. I think people accept that, they wouldn't accept giving a penalty for what happened.”
The lack of serious protest from Bijol or his teammates would suggest they’d accepted the call and it eventually mattered little. The Slovenian was a standout performer on Sunday as a clean sheet paved the way for Calvert-Lewin’s late winner.
Bijol dominated his own penalty area with Calvert-Lewin’s England World Cup squad rival Danny Welbeck barely getting a sniff at goal. According to Fotmob, the towering centre-back made 14 defensive contributions - a combination of tackles, blocks, clearances and interceptions - which was at least double that of any teammate.