Ex-PGMOL chief claims Leeds United player could be 'investigated' after incident vs Sunderland
Sunderland lost 2-1 to Leeds United on Monday evening.
Leeds United forward Largie Ramazani could be “investigated” by the FA for his celebrations in the aftermath of Sunderland’s 2-1 defeat at Elland Road on Monday evening, according to an ex-PGMOL chief.
The Black Cats slumped to a costly loss against their promotion rivals, conceding a decisive stoppage time goal that leaves them 10 points adrift of their hosts and eight points short of the automatic promotion places.
Understandably, emotions ran high amongst the home side after their last gasp winner and the final whistle that shortly followed it, and Ramazani caught the eye with his reaction to the late drama. The Belgian, who was introduced from the bench by Daniel Farke, immediately celebrated in Luke O’Nien’s face after Pascal Struijk put Leeds ahead in the 95th minute, and then seemed to goad Dan Neil once proceedings had been brought to a conclusion by referee Stuart Atwell.
And reflecting on his behaviour during an interview with MOT Leeds News, former PGMOL chief and FIFA official Keith Hackett suggested that Ramazani could be in line for retrospective punishment. He said: “This incident will be investigated by the Football Association. It will be interesting to see if any of the match officials witnessed the incident and included it in their special incident report form.”
Alongside Ramazani’s indiscretion, Leeds boss Farke was also booked for his celebrations in the aftermath of Struijk’s winner, and will now be absent from the touchline when his side take on Sheffield United in a top of the table clash at Bramall Lane next Monday.
Speaking about the incident in a post-match interview, he said: “I always have a really really good relationship with all referees, and I accept what they decide. I never thought I would ever get, for celebrating, a yellow card when you score a winner in the 95th minute. I’ll have to watch to see back if it’s deserved. I can’t really remember, if it was something that was not the right thing in the moment.”
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Ex-Leeds manager Neil Warnock took a dim view of Farke’s caution in his post-match summary for Sky Sports, stating: “He [Farke] celebrates and he runs onto the pitch with his team. What harm is he doing there? It’ll be a busy fourth official... and he’ll absolutely love it.
“I don’t understand that at all. To book him is a disgrace. Did anybody book David Moyes in the Everton game [vs Liverpool] the other night? I didn’t see anybody booking him. Oh my goodness.”
For their part, Sunderland will look to bounce back from their late disappointment at Elland Road when they face Hull City in the Championship on Saturday lunchtime. The Black Cats ran out 1-0 winners when the two sides met back in October, with Wilson Isidor deciding the contest after producing a stunning solo breakaway goal.
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