Credit: Imago

Harri Burton

Tue 3 March 2026 22:00, UK

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Daniel Farke was extremely disappointed and frustrated as Leeds United fell to defeat against Sunderland at Elland Road.

The Leeds boss had been absolutely furious following the 1-0 loss to Man City at the weekend, expressing his frustrations to the referee and getting sent off as a result.

Obviously, he was allowed back on the touchline against the Black Cats on Tuesday, 3 March, but his availability made little difference as Habib Diarra scored the only goal from the penalty spot.

Sunderland and Leeds are battling to sign Santiago Gimenez, Football Insider understands, but on the pitch, everyone associated with the Whites at Elland Road could not hide their emotions during the game.

Daniel Farke turns his back to Elland Road pitch

There was a lot of time-wasting between the two sides, hence the 12 minutes of added time from the officials, and this was starting to show on the sidelines, unsurprisingly.

In the 80th minute, Diarra went down as one of Leeds’ attacks came to an abrupt end, and Farke clearly believed that Sunderland’s match-winner was feigning injury.

Taking to X, Graham Smyth shared an update from West Yorkshire, writing: “Another Sunderland player down. Farke turns away and sinks to his haunches.”

Farke is normally quite measured in his reactions, but in the last couple of matches, he has failed to keep his emotions in check, this time choosing to turn away to hide his frustrations.

How did Leeds fans react to Sunderland players feigning injury?

Unsurprisingly, the reaction was not a positive one, with some aiming daggers at the opposition players, while others were far too angry with Farke to care about the incident.

One supporter was crying out for the referee to start punishing the players who were time-wasting, with another labelling the situation a “joke” as the Whites failed to strike in the 12 minutes of added time.

The main focus was on the manager, however. Leeds set up very defensively, and it didn’t pay off at all, especially after Ethan Ampadu gave away a late penalty in the second half.

Three points would have been so important in the Premier League relegation battle, but the Whites remain just six points above the dropzone.