Dermot Gallagher, a former Premier League referee, has weighed in on the controversial decision not to award Wilfried Gnonto a penalty in Leeds United’s draw against Norwich City. The match was a tense play-off semi-final first leg at Carrow Road, with neither team able to break the deadlock.
With Daniel Farke making a tactical move by bringing Archie Gray into midfield to solidify Leeds, the game lacked goal scoring opportunities. Both teams only managed three shots on target, none of which truly tested the goalkeepers.
Despite Leeds having the home advantage in the second leg, they were left feeling aggrieved by some refereeing decisions in the match. The disallowed goal of Junior Firpo and the non-penalty call on Gnonto were particularly controversial.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ ‘Ref Watch’, Dermot Gallagher shared his thoughts on the incident, expressing that it was a foul but difficult to determine if it was inside the box. He believes the referee genuinely thought the Norwich player got the ball, hence no foul was given.
Both the disallowed goal and the penalty incident were contentious, leaving Leeds feeling hard done by. Farke claimed there was evidence Rutter was onside, while replays showed Gnonto was brought down inside the box.
In the end, things tend to balance out, and Leeds will hope for better luck in the return leg on Thursday.
