Leeds United take on managerless Oxford United on Saturday. But Whites fans are fuming about one thing ahead of the game.
Leeds United will be widely expected to take all three points when they host a struggling Oxford United side in the Championship on Saturday.
The U’s have won just one of their last 15 in the Championship and currently find themselves in 20th place of the table.
Ahead of the game against Leeds, Oxford United are in talks with manager Gary Rowett after previously sacking Des Buckingham, and Rowett could even be in the dugout at Elland Road on Saturday.
Interestingly, Leeds United haven’t beaten Oxford in the league since 1989 when Howard Wilkinson was in charge, having only played the U’s competitively in the League Cup since 2000.
Leeds United fans fume at referee appointment for Oxford clash
The EFL has appointed James Bell for the game between Leeds and Oxford United on Saturday, and Whites fans aren’t too impressed.
Bell is a known Sheffield Wednesday fan and oversaw Leeds’ pre-season friendly game against Valencia in the summer.
One Leeds fan posted on X: “Shocking ref… Remember the Valencia game being a right mess, he couldn’t even control a pre-season friendly.”
Leeds’ last two games under Bell have been 1-0 defeats; against Burnley in September and then against Blackburn Rovers back in April.
Another Leeds fan said: “Comfortably the worst referee I’ve ever seen. Allowed Blackburn to waste what felt like an hour in that game. Horrendous.”
Others were more concerned about the fact that Bell is a Wednesday fan. Certain comments read: “How can a Sheffield Wednesday fan ref a Leeds game?” as well as: “Surely there must be some southern refs.”
Another fan said that Bell is ‘so bad’ whilst another Leeds support said he ‘can’t be any worse’ than the referee for the Preston game last weekend.
James Bell’s referee statistics ahead of Leeds vs Oxford United
Bell has overseen 10 games in the Championship this season and has averaged 22.9 fouls-per-game and 0.2 penalties-per-game.
He has also dished out 46 yellow cards (4.6-per-game) and three red cards (0.3-per-game).
In his career, Bell has overseen three Leeds games and the Whites have won just one of those, drawing the other two, whilst Oxford are winless in four games under his watch (three defeats and one draw).
The game kicks off at 3pm on Saturday afternoon.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
