'He knew' — Pundit slams Patrick Bamford 'audacity' after Leeds United goal vs Rotherham

Patrick Bamford grabbed the headlines on Saturday after his performance helped Leeds United breeze past Rotherham in their latest Championship clash. The striker popped up with an important opening goal after just ten minutes to set the tone of the match in their eventual 3-0 win.

However, as Elland Road erupted, complaints came from the away side as it appeared Bamford used his elbow to nudge the ball past Viktor Johansson in the Rotherham goal. Without the influence of VAR, the 30-year-old wheeled away in celebration and gestured to his elbow, seemingly acknowledging the incident had indeed been handball.

Millers manager Leam Richardson was far from happy that the goal stood. He expressed his disappointment after the match and claimed the linesman was 'unprofessional' for 'laughing and joking' with Bamford after the goal.

Bamford's Hand of God-esque goal has sparked a lot of debate among fans and professionals alike. Former Aston Villa and Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino aired his thoughts on the matter during Sunday morning's talkSPORT show and laid out his opinion plain and simple (h/t MOT Leeds Live).

"Of course, it’s a handball. Like Maradona, he got away with it. He cheated. He knew, he even pointed to his elbow during his celebration. The audacity shown after knowing he got away with it. It was so clear.

"He hand-balled it, owned it, and then got congratulated for the goal. There is no other way to explain it. He had no intention of telling the referee what he had done either."

Rotherham boss Richardson did concede that while frustrating to be on the end of Bamford's goal, it did not cost his side the game and he took time to praise Leeds for their 'quality' as they continue their push for promotion.

Crysencio Summerville bagged himself a brace to see out his side's latest win and extend his portfolio to 15 goals and eight assists across all competitions. Leeds are now on 63 points in third place in the Championship table, just one behind Southampton who have a game in-hand as they battle for a top two finish at the end of the season.