Leeds employee hits out as controversial Kristensen footage analysed
Noel Whelan has slammed the decision which saw Leeds United denied a second-half penalty for a seemingly blatant foul on Rasmus Kristensen.
The former Whites striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted there should be “no excuses” for on-field failures while the Video Assistant Referee system is in use.
As seen in footage posted to Twitter (6 August), Kristensen, 25, got his head to the ball before being wiped out by the fist of Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa.
VAR official Peter Bankes checked the incident, but ultimately on-field referee Robert Jones was not told to review his decision on the pitchside monitor.
Leeds United recorded a 2-1 opening day victory over Wolves, thanks to a first-half strike from Rodrigo and Rayan Ait-Nouri’s own goal.
Whelan highlighted the double standards in decision-making, insisting a penalty would have been awarded if Kristensen was caught late by a Wolves defender.
“It could’ve been very costly for Leeds,” he told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury.
“The decision needs to be made, and there are just no excuses with VAR.
“If it’s a defender coming in late after the ball has gone, it’s a penalty. I don’t see why it’s any different when it’s a goalkeeper making a challenge.
“He comes out very late, and it could have been a lot worse than it was. It was a very hefty challenge.
“You’d like to think that with the technology in place, they’d have the ability to award that penalty.”
The Times revealed on 2 August that the Premier League are planning to broadcast conversations between referees and their colleagues on VAR duties.
Such broadcasts would only take place post-match and would be introduced in order to increase transparency about decisions.
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