The Leeds United vs Brentford game ended in a 1-1 draw, well that’s what the history books will recall. A Neal Maupay penalty and a late Pontus Jansson header giving each side a share of the points.
However, the result, a 1-1 parity, is not the only ‘score draw’ that came out of the game. The aftermath and unfolding events from the game also saw the FA gain a less-than-credible 1-1 draw with their decisions.
Where they were right, to the letter of their own regulations, the FA rightly banned Pontus Jansson for his “robbery” comments aimed at the match official Jeffrey Simpson. In a way, the ‘bringing the game into disrepute’ charge saw Jansson bang to rights
However, if you are applying the ‘sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander’ adage then Brenford’s Sergi Canos should have been hauled up for a blatant, if somewhat weak, attempt at a headbutt on Leeds United winger Gjanni Alioski. It didn’t happen; the FA-appointed independent commission not unanimously agreeing that a headbutt had been carried out.
Angus Kinnear’s column in tonight’s match programme (see below) certainly adds a little colour to the developments of that game, and does so centred on the one-game ban and £1,000 fine imposed on Pontus Jansson.
Some fairly strong stuff from Angus Kinnear on the Brentford game (plus a joke about the 51-game wait for a penalty). Club highlighted 23 incidents in that match which they deemed “worthy of review” pic.twitter.com/qmyiVAyRBK
— Phil Hay (@PhilHayYEP) October 24, 2018
Kinnear said that the club accepted Jansson’s ban and fine, whilst also adding that Jansson’s “honest, if slightly colourful answer” was more than forgivable in the light of the circumstances surrounding the immediacy of the interview after the game.
However, the Leeds United CEO also drew attention to what Leeds United fans have argued since the final whistle sounded – that the decision-making was skewed against the Whites. He added that the club “appended a report detailing 23 incidents that we believed worthy of review.”
This was responded to by the Match Official Administration System, with “constructive feedback on every incident” being received. Kinnear goes on to say that he contacted former referee Mike Riley of the Professional Game Match Officials organisation, asking for assistance.
Riley sent one of his “expert staff” to Thorp Arch to work with Leeds United’s players to make them more aware of the pressures and challenges that match officials face and how decisions are reached.
Angus Kinnear even had enough column space to finish with a joke saying that if the club don’t get a “spot-kick soon” (they’ve gone 50 games without being awarded one) then he’s instructing the groundstaff to not paint the penalty spot so as to save some cash.
