Neil Redfearn was shocked to witness Ricardo Pereira being given a yellow card for a challenge on Georginio Rutter during the match against Leeds United. The former Whites manager expressed his surprise on BBC Radio Leeds and BBC Sport’s live-blog on February 23. Redfearn believed that Pereira’s tackle was fair and disagreed with the decision, stating “the game’s gone” if such a tackle warranted a caution.
Pereira’s tackle, which was described as a “great tackle” by Redfearn, did not appear to have any dangerous intent and he seemed to have cleanly won the ball. The erroneous decision by the referee to book Pereira added to the chaos of the high-octane game, where both teams started at a rapid pace.
Despite the controversial officiating, Leeds United had their chances but failed to capitalize on them. The league leaders managed to take the lead, but Leeds fought back with late goals from Connor Roberts and Dan James, reversing the game in their favor.
