Leeds United will not be happy to see the referee assigned to take charge of their upcoming game against Crystal Palace.
Daniel Farke will be optimistic that his side can continue their recent upturn in form when they welcome Crystal Palace to Elland Road this weekend.
Leeds come into the game on a three-game unbeaten run, after a goal from Dominic Calvert-Lewin salvaged a point against Brentford.
Although Palace are flying high in the Premier League table, as they sit in fifth place after 16 games, they face a tricky European away trip on Thursday afternoon, which leaves little time to recover.
However, Leeds do not have a good track record with the referee who took charge of the game, after he was criticised by Farke earlier in the Premier League season.
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Elland Road has been a fortress this season.
Leeds United v Crystal Palace referee is in Daniel Farke’s bad books
Leeds will be reunited with referee Thomas Bramall for the game against Palace, and he has not done much to endear himself to Farke in the last year.
Bramall last took charge of a Leeds game when Tottenham came to Elland Road earlier this season, as Leeds fell to a 2-1 defeat.
Pascal Struijk was denied a late penalty after appearing to be pulled down in the box, and Bramall was criticised for a lack of consistency after the game.
When Graham Smyth asked Farke about the referee’s performance in his post-match press conference, via Chris Cowlin on YouTube, Farke referred to Bramall’s previous performance when Leeds faced Luton Town in the Championship run-in in response.
The Leeds boss said: “I have to be careful. I also do not like to comment [on the referee] in public. I think the last time we had this referee, it was also a big talking point, and I think we received a formal letter.
“But again, I don’t want to go into this topic, don’t want to comment on it too much. I will leave it to other people to comment. I cannot influence this.”
Thomas Bramall let Leeds v Spurs ‘get away from him’
The Leeds fans let Bramall know their feelings during the game against Spurs, as they booed the referee from the field of play on a frustrating afternoon.
After the game, Adam Pope admitted that the referee had let the game get away from him at Elland Road.
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Speaking on the Don’t Go to Bed Just Yet podcast in October, Pope said: “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.”
He added: “It got away from him. Spurs managed the game well with the officials.”
Leeds will be hoping that they can get more joy out of the referee this weekend, after Mark Clattenburg said they should have received a penalty in the game against Brentford.
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