Premier League panel says Leeds should have had penalty in Sunderland win | OneFootball

Leeds United should have been awarded an early penalty in their 1-0 home defeat to Sunderland at Elland Road on 3 March, the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel has ruled. According to Sunderland Echo, the panel added that VAR ought to have stepped in.

The flashpoint came from a 16th-minute Leeds corner with the game goalless, when Luke O’Nien grappled with Pascal Struijk inside the box. The panel found O’Nien was not looking at the ball and used his arms to block Struijk’s run.

It concluded unanimously that Stuart Attwell should have awarded a spot-kick and that VAR official Paul Tierney should have recommended a review.

Daniel Farke criticised the decision after the match, insisting it was a clear penalty and questioning the lack of VAR intervention.

Sunderland later won it with a 70th-minute penalty after captain Ethan Ampadu was penalised for handball, a call upheld on review. The panel backed that decision by a 5-0 vote, stating Ampadu made a secondary arm movement that diverted the ball.

Source: Sunderland Echo