Ref Watch panel disagree on Leeds United penalty incident vs Sunderland with Dominic Calvert-Lewin 'pushed'
Leeds United had second-half penalty claims waved away at the Stadium of Light.
Former Premier League striker Jay Bothroyd believes Leeds United should have had a penalty for a foul on Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Sunderland.
Calvert-Lewin wanted a second-half spot-kick at the Stadium of Light after coming together with Sunderland defender Luke O’Nien. The pair challenged for the ball after goalkeeper Robin Roefs spilled an Ao Tanaka shot, with the Leeds striker going to ground.
Referee Stuart Attwell waved away those claims with a VAR review adjudging his decision to have been correct. Former Premier League official Dermot Gallagher agreed with the decision, telling Sky Sports: "I do not think it is a penalty. Calvert-Lewin treads on the ball and that is what knocks him over.”
But Bothroyd saw the incident in a different way, with his belief being that Calvert-Lewin was fouled by O’Nien. The former striker’s assessment was that the Leeds man was in control of the ball and was forced to ground by his opponent.
"I think it is a penalty,” Bothroyd said. “He is in control of the ball and gets pushed, he is leaning into him and without that, he is not going down."
A potential Leeds red card was also reviewed on Ref Watch, with Jayden Bogle’s first-half challenge on Reinildo under the microscope. The Whites full-back was shown a yellow card by Attwell after a coming together that left the Sunderland man with grazes on his body.
"It's a yellow card for reckless play, he's always looking at the ball," Gallagher said of the incident. "He goes to pull out as well."
Former manager Tim Sherwood agreed that Attwell was right not to send Bogle off, with the Leeds man raising his leg for protection. Sherwood said: "He's lifted his leg up to protect himself. He looks and puts his foot up high. I don't think it's a red, though."
Bothroyd again hinted at seeing the situation differently than his fellow pundits, labelling the collision ‘unfortunate’ but admitting similar challenges have led to dismissals. He added: "That's an unfortunate coming together but I've seen red cards for those before."