“I am annoyed” – Daniel Farke responds to pivotal moment in Leeds United’s draw with Norwich City

Daniel Farke was dissatisfied with a major decision made after Leeds United’s 0-0 draw at Norwich City in the first leg of their play-off semi-final.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Despite a controversial goal disallowed by Norwich City referees, Leeds United remains in a great position to reach Wembley Stadium.
• Daniel Farke’s dissatisfaction with officiating appears misplaced; the focus should be on improving Leeds United’s performance.
• Farke’s remarks on VAR and officiating ignore Leeds’ own on-field problems in achieving automatic promotion.

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has slammed the officials for disallowing Junior Firpo’s first-half goal in their 0-0 first leg play-off draw at Norwich City on Sunday.

Leeds United are in a solid position to reach Wembley.

The Whites came into the game at Carrow Road disappointed after missing out on a top two finish, as a disappointing final month of the season saw Ipswich Town join Leicester City in the Premier League.

However, the play-offs provided Leeds with another opportunity to return to the top division, and the Yorkshire club eventually put themselves in a strong position after drawing 0-0 away to Norwich.

Of course, there is still much work to be done at Elland Road, but Leeds will be confident in their chances on Thursday night in front of their own supporters.

However, it could have been better, as the visitors felt they had opened the scoring in the first half when Junior Firpo tapped home after Shane Duffy deflected the ball past Angus Gunn.

Daniel Farke is angry with refereeing.

Replays revealed that Georginio Rutter, who was challenging the Irish defender, was offside, hence the goal was disallowed.

However, while TV visuals appeared to back up the call, Farke believes he saw a different perspective that indicated the French U21 international was onside, and he also suggested that Leeds would have been in the top two if the officiating had been better this season.

“Sky offered an image that demonstrated offside, but everyone should refer to the scouting feed for a more accurate feed. It is not offside. When it comes to marginal cases, officials have a regulation that favors the attackers. “I am disappointed that they have not followed this,” he told Leeds Live.

“Everyone talks about Wembley and a £100 million game, but at this level, every choice must be spot on. If in doubt, side with the aggressor. I want myself and my players to be spot on, but the officials should also feel the pressure.

“Sky offered an image that demonstrated offside, but everyone should refer to the scouting feed for a more accurate feed. It is not offside. When it comes to marginal cases, officials have a regulation that favors the attackers. “I am disappointed that they have not followed this,” he told Leeds Live.

“Everyone talks about Wembley and a £100 million game, but at this level, every choice must be spot on. If in doubt, side with the aggressor. I want myself and my players to be spot on, but the officials should also feel the pressure.

“If we are fortunate enough to make it to Wembley, I know that asking for VAR will not benefit us in the final. That is karma. If we had VAR, we would have been promoted automatically. We wouldn’t be in the playoffs. If VAR is not implemented, we must ensure that the referees are even better.

Daniel Farke should focus on his Leeds United team.

This was a weird scream by Farke, considering TV replays show the linesman made the correct decision. Obviously, he has a different perspective, and it would be interesting if those photographs were given, but it was clearly a close call, so you should be able to accept the outcome.

You may understand his fury in isolation, but the reality is that this was a forgettable game with poor quality, and his team did not do enough to win. Similarly, they were at ease for the most part, and they would have probably settled for a draw before kicking the ball.

His suggestion that if VAR had been in place, Leeds would have been promoted is another unnecessary jab.

Leeds suffered various setbacks this season, the most notable of which being their failure to convert a penalty at home to Sunderland. However, they benefited from a horrible offside call in a narrow victory over Middlesbrough.