Former England striker Michael Owen has angrily defended Leeds United following the controversial goal scored against Aston Villa last weekend.
The away side at Elland Road were furious when Mathuesz Klich opened the scoring while Villa had a player down and wanted the ball kicked out of play, which sparked a remarkable sequence of scenes.
Anwar El Ghazi was sent off after Patrick Bamford deceived the referee, which saw the dismissal for the Villa man overturned and the Peacocks striker issued a two-match ban this week, before Marcelo Bielsa ordered his side to allow Villa to equalise.
The game finished level, ending Leeds’ hopes of automatic promotion to the Premier League, and the club have been praised for their sportsmanship in allowing Albert Adomah to score - but Owen believes Leeds did not put a foot wrong in their approach.
Speaking to BT Sport, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker was asked if Leeds should have kicked the ball out of play.
“No. This is the one thing which annoys me most about football, players refereeing game. Kicking the ball out when somebody is down and then they get up within two seconds. It’s rubbish!” he replied.
“Referee’s are taught and trained, if they see a head injury they stop the game. If not, play on and let the referee decide.”
Leeds United finish their regular-season campaign with a tie against already relegated Ipswich Town on Sunday, before kicking off their playoff campaign in a final bid to achieve promotion to the top-flight.
