As they so often do, a few contentious refereeing decisions dominated a lot of the post-match talk following Leeds United’s 1-1 draw with Southampton. Goals from Jack Harrison and James Ward-Prowse ultimately decided the result on an afternoon where a draw was probably a fair outcome.
Although, Jesse Marsch and the home supporters inside Elland Road may well have felt as though they deserved a penalty, or two. Firstly, Raphinha was challenged in the penalty area by Ibrahima Diallo before Joe Gelhardt also went to ground with just moments left of the 90 minutes.
After looking at the replays, the latter of the two appeals certainly seemed stronger and the Whites could have felt aggrieved to see it waved away by Anthony Taylor. Speaking on Sky Sports News’ Ref Watch on Monday morning, Dermot Gallagher felt that the referee’s on-field decision was the most important.
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“I think if this is going to be a penalty, it’s got to be the referee’s decision,” said the former Premier League referee. “He doesn’t get the ball so it’s a question of does the referee feel that there’s enough contact to give a penalty? He felt no.
“Why I say it has to be the referee's decision is because this would never be thrown to VAR. It’s solely down the referee on the day.”
Both pundits who were present on Ref Watch , Stephen Warnock and Sue Smith, claimed that Leeds should have been awarded a penalty for the challenge on Gelhardt. They were less convinced by the Raphinha incident that occurred earlier in the second half and Gallagher was in agreement with the decision made by Taylor.
“I think the referee has called this absolutely right because I think [Raphinha] actually kicks Diallo as he goes to play the ball,” he said of the decision to wave away the protests. “Diallo comes behind him and [Raphinha] kicks the back of his heel. The referee was in the perfect position and that’s what made that decision correct.”
While Whites supporters will feel aggrieved to not have been given at least the one penalty on Saturday afternoon, fans in the Don Revie Stand might have been holding their breath when the ball struck Diego Llorente’s arm in the first half. However, Taylor made the correct decision not to award a penalty, according to Gallagher.
“I didn’t think it was handball and I do think if the referee had given handball, it would have been reversed anyhow,” he claimed. “Because, if you look, [Mohamed] Elyounoussi plays it first and I think it comes off Elyounoussi’s arm then bounces up and strikes Llorente. Not a penalty but if the referee had have given the penalty incorrectly - which he didn’t - I think it would have been overturned.”
