With the 2025/26 Premier League season heading towards the final run-in, Manchester City were able to pick up a crucial three points as they look to chase down leaders Arsenal at the top of the table. Playing away at Elland Road, they came away with a narrow 1-0 win against Leeds United.
It was a game of few chances, with one of the biggest talking points being the home crowd's first-half reaction when play was paused to allow fasting Muslim players to take on food and water as part of Ramadan. In the end, a single goal from Antoine Semenyo was enough to see Pep Guardiola's men come away with all three points.
At the end of the game, however, clearly unhappy with the performance of the officials, furious Leeds boss Daniel Farke marched over to Peter Bankes and was swiftly sent off. He was clearly unhappy with the officials on the day, and footage has now emerged explaining why the home team may have been left rather frustrated.
Farke's Red Card Rage Explained
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke is shown a red card by referee Peter Bankes at the end of the match
With the club manager having been dismissed, Leeds coach Eddie Riemer was left to do media duties. Speaking after the game, Farke's assistant explained why the German had been so angry at full-time, saying via YahooSports:
“I think I had just a short chat with him [Farke]. There were incidents and obvious time wasting.
“We felt he could've given a corner several times. They got a yellow card several times. He runs on the pitch for 'For what' and this is why he gets sent off but maybe it was for aggression or a harsh manner. He rarely gets sent off. The first one was over-celebrating when we got promoted. This is the second and I think it's very harsh."
Farke was clearly raging after the full-time whistle, and even had to be restrained by captain Ethan Ampadu as he made further complaints to Bankes.
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Man City Avoid Punishment After Possible Red Card and Handball
Perhaps adding to Farke's sense of injustice, two further incidents – beyond the lack of adding on more injury time – also occurred. As shown in the footage above, officials decided not to act on a stamp by Rayan Cherki on Ilia Gruev, and Leeds were also denied a penalty for handball in the latter stages.
The first incident came in the 57th minute with Man City already leading 1-0. Gruev was sat on the ground, with play stopped, but Cherki attempted to get the ball before stamping his boot down high onto the shin of his opponent. He was lucky not to be sent off, as the laws of the game state:
"Violent conduct is when a player uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball, or against a team-mate, team official, match official, spectator or any other person, regardless of whether contact is made."
Then, in the 86th minute, a cross was sent towards Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but Man City managed to scramble it away. Replays showed that Matheus Nunes misjudged the flight of the ball, though, and it bounced off his arm before being cleared. With both his arms outstretched, it could be argued that he 'made his body unnaturally bigger', which once more could have been penalised under the law of the game.
VAR opted against intervening on either incident.