Premier League panel says VAR missed Leeds penalty in Sunderland’s 1-0 win | OneFootball

The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel has found Leeds United should have been awarded an early penalty during Sunderland’s 1-0 win at Elland Road on 3 March.

Leeds won a corner in the 16th minute and, as the cross arrived, Luke O’Nien grappled with Pascal Struijk. According to Sunderland Echo, the KMI Panel ruled referee Stuart Attwell should have given a spot-kick and that VAR official Paul Tierney should have intervened.

The panel reported that O’Nien was not looking at the ball and had his arms around Struijk, restricting the defender’s movement and preventing an attempt to attack the delivery.

Sunderland later went ahead from the spot in the 70th minute after Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu was penalised for handball, a decision upheld by VAR. The KMI Panel backed that intervention by a 5-0 vote, noting a secondary arm movement diverted the ball.

Leeds head coach Daniel Farke was forthright afterwards, calling the earlier incident a clear penalty, questioning why VAR did not check it, and suggesting Attwell would have awarded it on review while acknowledging it can be difficult for the on-field referee to see.

The panel said the missed first-half decision should have resulted in a Leeds penalty, recording unanimous agreement on that call.

Source: Sunderland Echo