Former FIFA referee Keith Hackett has given his thoughts on whether Leeds United’s equaliser against Chelsea should have been ruled out for handball in the build-up, as Liam Rosenior slammed the “unacceptable” decision.
The Blues were 2-0 up and cruising thanks to goals from Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer, but Moises Caicedo, who struggled on Tuesday night, then gave away a penalty which allowed Leeds back into the game. And matters went from bad to worse for the west Londoners as Noah Okafor then levelled proceedings from close range after some calamitous defending by the home side.
However, Chelsea players were irate after the goal, believing that Jayden Bogle had handled the ball in the build-up. It appeared as though the ball bounced up off the Leeds player’s body and onto his elbow in the build-up to the goal.
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The Red Devils had won for games in a row coming into the Premier League match.
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In the aftermath of the goal, the Premier League’s Match Centre account on X shared why the goal had not been chalked off for handball. They wrote: “The referee’s call of goal to Leeds United was checked and confirmed by VAR – with there deemed to be no handball offence by Bogle in the build-up.”
Rosenior was then asked about the decision following the match’s conclusion, stating that at the time, he believed the goal should have been disallowed. He said: “At the time I did. I still haven’t seen it, people are still questioning whether it is or isn’t.
“The rule is that if there’s any contact with his hand it should be disallowed. But I haven’t seen it back to make that judgement.”
However, the interviewer then put to him that the handball wasn’t deliberate, which was the ruling put out by the commentary team. And Rosenior took issue with that explanation.
He said: “The rule is the rule. From my understanding, if there’s any handball in the lead-up to a goal, it should be disallowed.
“So if they’ve said that, then someone explain the rules to me, because they need to help the referees. You saying that has just got me angrier because that’s unacceptable if they’ve come with that judgement.”
However, it seems as though the referees got the decision spot on in the eyes of Hackett. The former FIFA referee stated on Football Insider’s X account that the mitigating factor was the ball bouncing off Bogle’s thigh and onto his elbow.
“Match officials got this one spot on,” he said. “The ball hit the player first and then bounced onto the arm.
“That is accidental handball. So then allowing play to continue and the goal to be allowed is the correct call.”
Although Chelsea will feel aggrieved despite the explanation, they arguably should have won the tie without leaving it in the hands of a contentious decision. Cole Palmer could have snatched all three points in the dying moments when Caicedo flashed the ball across the box, only for him to blaze over from close range.
Rosenior’s team will now look to bounce back in their FA Cup fourth round tie against Hull City on Friday. Leeds, meanwhile, will travel to Birmingham for their match in the competition on Sunday.
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