If anyone had a bad game on Saturday, it was Thomas Bramall. The referee was appointed for only a third time to be the man in the middle for a Leeds United match, and he struggled.
Leeds fans have bemoaned the referee’s inconsistency in making decisions and allowing Tottenham to get away with wasting time. Bramall allowed Joao Palhinha and Cristian Romero to get away with criticism.
Tony Dorigo believes Palhinha should have been sent off in the first half. Handed a yellow card for a tackle on Brenden Aaronson, Palhinha was aggressive in his protests towards Bramall and the linesman.
While it is fair to say that Bramall didn’t get any big decisions wrong, it was the little niggly ones. Anton Stach winning the ball back in Spurs’ half but Bramall awarding a free-kick, and other strange decisions.
What Adam Pope was told about Thomas Bramall before game
Even more so, the decision to hand Tottenham possession after the ball hit Bramall. Spurs had headed the ball out of their area, and it was about to land at Ethan Ampadu’s feet. But Bramall returned it to Spurs.
Speaking on Don’t Go To Bed Just Yet on Monday, Pope claims he was told before the game by someone in the refereeing world that a Premier League clash between Leeds and Spurs was too big for Bramall.
Pope told his podcast: “Some people are talking about the ref, and there was a suggestion made to me before the game, that maybe it was too big [a game] for him at this stage of his career.
Buchan asked: “A suggestion made by someone in that world?”, before Pope replied: “Yeah. Would I have thought about that otherwise? It got away from him, Spurs managed the game well with the officials.”
What Leeds fans did at full-time after Thomas Bramall frustration
Leeds fans were frustrated for many reasons on Saturday. Daniel Farke encapsulated that frustration by saying Leeds deserved to win the game, not even draw it. Wayne Rooney said Leeds were the better side.
Alan Shearer agreed with Rooney, in his analysis of the 2-1 loss. But that was not the only source of their frustration, with Leeds fans booing Bramall off the pitch and screaming “cheat” at the man in the middle.
Bramall has been involved in Leeds controversy before, with Bramall centre of attention during the 1-1 draw with Luton last season. The fact of the matter is, Leeds left Elland Road without anything to show.
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