Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Leeds Live
Leeds Live
Sport
George Smith & Joe Mewis

Championship Fair Play table tells you everything about Marcelo Bielsa's philosophy at Leeds United

Whilst Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa's top focus is on getting the Whites playing entertaining football and guiding them back to the Premier League, the Leeds chief is also a big believer of the game we all love being played fairly.

Bielsa's eagerness for the sport to be played in a fairly and sensible manner was highlighted towards the back-end of last season when Leeds and Aston Villa went toe-to-toe in a memorable clash at Elland Road.

Following a challenge by skipper Liam Cooper on Villa striker Jonathan Kodjia, Leeds decided to play on, eventually scoring through Mateusz Klich. But whilst the home supporters were jubilant in the stands, chaos broke out on the field and in the technical area.

The whole incident saw Villa ace Anwar El Ghazi for an alleged arm into the face of Patrick Bamford, though video replays showed Bamford had, in fact, faked the incident.

But following the whole melee, Bielsa, in a true sporting fashion, ordered his Leeds players to give Villa a goal, with Albert Adomah running through from the restart and drawing Dean Smith's side level.

Bielsa and Leeds United won a FIFA Fair Play Award this season (Tullio Puglia - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

Bielsa's sportsmanship did not go unnoticed, with the 64-year-old's decision leading to himself and Leeds being awarded the FIFA Fair Play award.

And Bielsa's mantra clearly hasn't changed this season either, with the Whites, after 14 Championship games, having collected the lowest amount of disciplinary points so far this season, according to the FA's Fair Play table for the Championship.

Here, LeedsLive has taken a close look at how United's disciplinary record compares to the rest of the Championship so far this term, with four disciplinary points being handed out for a yellow card, 10 points for a red card for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity or dismissal for two cautions and 12 points being awarded for a red card brandished for violent conduct, serious foul play, spitting or offensive and abusive language.

1 - Barnsley

Yellow cards: 36

Red cards: 1

Disciplinary points: 156

2 - Sheffield Wednesday

Yellow cards: 33

Red cards: 1

Disciplinary points: 142

3 - Wigan Athletic

Yellow cards: 32

Red cards: 1

Disciplinary points: 138

4 - Hull City

Yellow cards: 28

Red cards: 2

Disciplinary points: 134

5 - Millwall

Yellow cards: 27

Red cards: 2

Disciplinary points: 130

6 - Charlton Athletic

Yellow cards: 32

Red cards: 0

Disciplinary points: 128

7 - QPR

Yellow cards: 28

Red cards: 1

Disciplinary points: 122

8 - West Bromwich Albion

Yellow cards: 26

Red cards: 1

Disciplinary points: 116

9 - Bristol City

Yellow cards: 25

Red cards: 1

Disciplinary points: 112

10 - Fulham

Yellow cards: 22

Red cards: 2

Disciplinary points: 108

11 - Birmingham City

Yellow cards: 27

Red cards: 0

Disciplinary points: 108

12 - Nottingham Forest

Yellow cards: 26

Red cards: 0

Disciplinary points: 104

13 - Blackburn Rovers

Yellow cards: 25

Red cards: 0

Disciplinary points: 100

14 - Reading

Yellow cards: 22

Red cards: 1

Disciplinary points: 98

15 - Derby County

Yellow cards: 24

Red cards: 0

Disciplinary points: 96

Derby County sit 15th in the fair play table (Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

16 - Huddersfield Town

Yellow cards: 24

Red cards: 0

Disciplinary points: 96

17 - Middlesbrough

Yellow cards: 23

Red cards: 0

Disciplinary points: 92

18 - Swansea City

Yellow cards: 19

Red cards: 1

Disciplinary points: 88

Where Arsenal and manager Unai Emery stand on the Eddie Nketiah situation

19 - Cardiff City

Yellow cards: 22

Red cards: 0

Disciplinary points: 88

20 - Stoke City

Yellow cards: 16

Red cards: 1

Disciplinary points: 76

Stoke are 20th in the list (Malcolm Hart)

21 - Brentford

Yellow cards: 18

Red cards:

Disciplinary points: 72

22 - Luton Town

Yellow cards: 18

Red cards: 0

Disciplinary points: 72

23 - Preston North End

Yellow cards: 18

Red cards: 0

Disciplinary points: 72

24 - Leeds United

Yellow cards: 17

Red cards: 1

Disciplinary points: 68

As you can see from the data above, Leeds have picked up the least amount of disciplinary points so far this term, with only Stoke City collecting fewer yellow cards.

The Whites' only red card this season, of course, was overturned after the EFL decided to overrule referee James Linington's decision to send-off centre-back Gaetano Berardi in the 2-1 defeat to Millwall earlier this month.

 
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.