Leeds United striker Rodrigo celebrates scoring against Chelsea in the Premier League
Despite some late drama at Elland Road, Phil Hay doesn’t believe Leeds United should’ve been awarded a penalty on Saturday.
The Lowdown: Leeds salvage a point
Leeds will have walked away from Elland Road perhaps not knowing how they didn’t taste defeat once again under Javi Gracia with only a Jack Harrison wonder strike salvaging a point.
It wasn’t also just what Leeds had done on the pitch, it was also how wasteful Brighton were in front of goal as they squandered several gold opportunities to pick up a huge three points in their European push.
Despite their lack of cutting edge in the final third, Leeds could well have sneaked away with a win had VAR intervened and awarded them a penalty which Rodrigo was desperate for.
The Latest: Rodrigo wasn’t fouled at the end
Even though Rodrigo went down under a challenge late in the game, Hay has insisted on The Phil Hay Show that it probably wasn’t enough to earn themselves a spot kick.
He said: (33:45) “Looking at the replay I thought first time around that Webster got the ball and then the player coming across from the other side got the ball and then did Webster bring him down first?
“I don’t think it was [a penalty] I thought it was a fair decision.”
The Verdict: A fair decision for everyone
If Leeds had been awarded a penalty right at the death and it was converted by whoever would’ve taken the spot kick, it could well have been the turning point in their season under Javi Gracia who’s still only won one game.
However, given that even a Leeds reporter in the form of Hay didn’t believe it should’ve been spot kick and seemed as though there was too much going on to determine who made the initial contact probably suggests it wasn’t a penalty.
While Leeds fans will have been desperate for the spot kick to be awarded, they can’t be pinning their hopes on refereeing decisions going their way, they must start picking up points and wins on their own accord.
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