'Doesn't seem fair' - Ex-Premier League referee weighs in on Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur controversy
A former Premier League referee has weighed in on a controversial decision made in Leeds United's clash with Tottenham Hotspur
Former Premier League referee Graham Barber does not believe Leeds United’s Jayden Bogle should have escaped punishment for his challenge on Tottenham Hotspur’s Mathys Tel.
Leeds defeated Spurs 1-0 at Elland Road on Saturday (November 7) but many of the travelling supporters felt the Whites should have been reduced to 10 men.
Marauding wing-back Bogle caught the back of the ankle of winger Tel, which forced the wideman out of action.
VAR (video assistant referee) did not call referee John Brooks over for another look and Bogle was not carded for the challenge at all.
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Ex-referee weighs in on Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur controversy
Barber, who officiated in the Premier League between 1996 and 2004, told GiveMeSport: “There's two things for me in this incident that didn't feel right.
“A player's gone off injured by, in my opinion, a very, very poor challenge and the result of that, is that the player who was offended upon, left the field of play because he was injured and couldn't continue, and there was no action taken at all in that incident.
“So that doesn't, when you try and balance everything up, that doesn't seem fair. I would have hoped the referee would have thought that was a yellow card when he first saw it, because I thought it was quite a strong challenge.
“Trying to get consistency from match to match is very, very difficult, the only thing in this match was there wasn't consistency.
“I thought it was a very, very poor challenge, it was reckless at best but you could describe it as dangerous and endangering the safety of the opponent, and did it endanger the safety of the opponent? Well, the answer is probably yes, because he had to leave the field of play about five minutes later.
“You know I'm a big advocate of supporting referees, and I know the guys do a great job out there, I just didn't think with this incident the sum of it all didn't add up to, if you like, an acceptable understanding and result.”
Tottenham are submitting a formal complaint to Pro Ref following the controversial incident.