Match of the Day pundits Leon Osman and Stephen Warnock have provided similar verdicts on the penalty decision which helped Leeds United defeat Burnley.
Patrick Bamford converted a penalty kick in the fifth minute of the contest after being brought down by Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope.
The visitors were up in arms at the decision, claiming that Pope got enough of the ball to avoid a penalty. And now Osman and Warnock agree that the decision shouldn't have gone in the favour of Leeds.
“For me, it is not a penalty. It is a great ball over the top for Patrick Bamford but I think Nick Pope times it well; he gets great contact with the ball," former Everton player Osman told Match of the Day 2.
“I can only imagine it has been given for the force of the challenge. I don’t see how he can come out and block that, stop Patrick Bamford getting past him, and not get the ball. It is not a penalty.”
Ex-Liverpool defender Warnock also added: “I’m with Leon, I don’t think it is a penalty at all. I think he has been brave, gone out and won the ball. You have to be brave when looking to get the ball and he has done that. For me, it is not a penalty.”
Leeds were perhaps fortunate to not concede their own penalty when Illan Meslier collided with Ben Mee later in the contest and Warnock believes it was another instance in which the Whites enjoyed some luck.
Warnock added: “You see Ben Mee never takes his eye off the ball. [Illan] Meslier comes into the area where Ben Mee is. A knee in the back. A lot of people will say goalkeepers are protecting themselves when they go for the ball, but if that is a centre-back, that is a penalty.
“When you have VAR, let the game run. Also, you can see from Meslier’s reaction that he knows he has made an error.”
