Leeds United may have defeated Everton 1-0 at Elland Road but the game was not without controversy thanks to the late penalty call.
Lukas Nmecha dispatched it coolly on debut to hand Leeds United all three points during the first Monday Night Football of the season.
In the eyes of many, the Whites were fortunate to win the spot kick. Anton Stach’s powerful drive was adjudged to have been handled by James Tarkowski when attempting to block the shot.
It is for to say it has divided opinion. However, the decision was backed by Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville in their post-match reaction. It was a huge call from Chris Kavanagh and he was told it was wrong according to FA laws.
Leeds United v Everton - Premier League
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Clinton Morrison, Kris Boyd, and Jobi McAnuff argue over Leeds penalty incident
Alan Shearer thought the penalty decision was a shambles, and Leeds may have got away with one. It split the Soccer Special panel on Sky Sports News on Tuesday evening, too.
Two of the five guests believed it was a penalty, but three did not. Among the two who disagreed were Kris Boyd and Clinton Morrison. It’s not the first time, either.
The two spoke on Sky Sports News [26 April, 12:35pm]. Boyd said: “It was only a couple of weeks ago people were saying they’d blown it. Clinton was singing Leeds are falling apart again”.
Morrison was quick to defend himself, though, as he replied: “No, I said Leeds and Burnley will go up. Don’t let him wind you up, Leeds fans.”
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The Soccer Special panel clash over Tarkowski’s handball against Leeds United. pic.twitter.com/q4HMXLDDKY
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This time around, the two could not agree. Boyd said: “Does he make a dipping motion towards the ball?”
Morrison replied: “Yes, but his arms are still beside him as well.”
Boyd interrupted abruptly: “Answer my question: does he make a dipping motion towards the ball?”
“Yeah, he makes a dipping motion towards the ball”
“Does it hit his arm? Does it hit his arm?”
“Let me speak now because you’ve spoke. What do you want him to do? What do you want him to do in that situation as a defender?”
“Let it go through and let your goalkeeper save it!”
Jobi McAnuff added: “You’ve got to stand up straight. I think, if you’re a defender, and you stand up straight and it hits your arm and your arm is in and you’ve made no attempt to move your body towards the ball, I’d say maybe fair enough.
Tommy Smith said: “For a defender, that’s not your natural instinct.”
McAnuff replied: “It’s going to go past your arm. How many situations have you been in where you’ve got to just pull your arm away when it’s coming towards you?
“He’s come in towards the ball, it’s hit his arm, like Boydy says, it’s a handball.”
James Tarkowski of Everton protests the handball awarded against him vs Leeds United
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James Tarkowski’s reaction to penalty incident
Speaking post-match immediately after, Tarkowski said: “[It’s] not a penalty. As soon as the ref blew, I was pretty confident it was going to get overturned.
“My first question to him was, ‘If my arm was by my side, which it was, is it a penalty?’ To which he said, ‘No’. And then I’ve since read that I leaned into the ball, but there’s nothing unnatural about my arm being by my side.
“So, the ball’s allowed to hit your arm. It’s just not allowed to be away from your body unnaturally, which it wasn’t. So I can’t really understand it, really. The linesman gave it, apparently, but he’s 45 yards away.
“And I don’t understand how he can see what I’ve done with my arm from that angle. So a bizarre, bizarre moment. And, yeah, it cost us the point in the end.”