Premier League panel admits VAR error in Sunderland win at Leeds | OneFootball

According to Sunderland Echo, a Premier League review panel has found Sunderland were fortunate not to concede an early penalty in their 1-0 win at Leeds earlier this month.

The incident came in the first half at Elland Road, when a 16th-minute corner saw Luke O’Nien tussling with Pascal Struijk.

After review, the Key Match Incidents panel ruled referee Stuart Attwell should have awarded Leeds a penalty and that VAR official Paul Tierney should have stepped in. It judged O’Nien impeded Struijk from attacking the ball.

The report said O’Nien was not looking at the ball and had his arms around Struijk, restricting his movement towards goal. The panel unanimously deemed it a spot-kick for the hosts.

Sunderland later won through a 70th-minute penalty after captain Ethan Ampadu was penalised for handball, a decision upheld by VAR. The panel backed that intervention by five votes to nil, concluding Ampadu made a secondary arm movement that diverted the ball, so the award was correct.

Leeds head coach Daniel Farke was outspoken afterwards, saying it was a clear penalty in his view and questioning why VAR did not check it. He suggested Attwell would have given it on review and noted the on-field angle is harder to see.

Source: Sunderland Echo