Daniel Farke slams officials over disallowed goal in Leeds’ play-off draw at Norwich
Daniel Farke castigated the match officials for disallowing a Leeds goal he was convinced should have stood and claimed that his side would already be back in the Premier League if VAR had been used in the Championship this season.
Leeds, relegated last year, are the favourites to progress to Wembley following a play-off semi-final first-leg stalemate that was short on quality and lacking clear-cut chances.
One came the visitors’ way in the 30th minute when a mix-up between Norwich goalkeeper Angus Gunn and centre-back Shane Duffy presented Junior Firpo with an open goal.
Referee Josh Smith ruled it out however because of a raised flag against Georginio Rutter in the build-up, with television replays suggesting it had been a correct, albeit marginal, call. Farke, who led Norwich to promotions to the Premier League in 2019 and 2021 before being sacked, was convinced alternative technology proved otherwise.
“Someone told me that Sky showed a picture they said was proof it was offside,” he said. “I recommend everyone have a look on the scouting feed, where you have a proper line. It was not offside.
“Because we are playing at the top level small details make a difference. It changes the whole picture here. Everyone speaks about Wembley, the £100 million game, and at this level all the decisions have to be spot on. I expect myself to be spot on in these games with my decisions and my players as well so, sorry, if you want to be in charge of such a game you have to do the same as well.”
VAR will be in place for the final on May 26 and Farke refused to contemplate that in fear that “karma” would strike down his team should they progress in a tie that will be settled at Elland Road on Thursday.
But he did claim that his side, who finished third with 90 points behind Leicester and Ipswich, would have pipped at least one rival had VAR been a second-tier staple.
“I have 12 apologising letters at home already during the season with offside goals and penalties not given,” he said. “If we would have used VAR during this season we wouldn’t be in the play-offs - we would have been promoted automatically.”
Ipswich’s promotion is also a headache for Norwich manager David Wagner, whose side were inferior all season apart from the two derby matches, and sneaked into sixth place. The Canaries were pro-active in this one but created little, with Josh Sargent heading their best chance wide early on.
Norwich were applauded throughout and afterwards however by supporters who had wanted Wagner sacked in November, when City were 17th.
“This football club looks unified again, which is great to see after a difficult period,” said the German.
02:11 PM BST
It’s now a one-off shootout
📰 All to play for at Elland Road pic.twitter.com/IgxeqtZjah
— Leeds United (@LUFC) May 12, 2024
01:56 PM BST
Leeds will be happier with the draw
Advantage Leeds? Probably as a clean sheet from a Phoney War first-leg that was short on both quality and shots on target suited the visitors better than hosts who had lost both regular-season games to Daniel Farke’s Whites and finished 17 points worse off.
Leeds, who have failed all five previous attempts to get up through the play-offs, felt they should have had a penalty early on when Wilfried Gnonto was felled by Borja Sainz and Junior Firpo had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside before the break.
It was all too frantic however and both sides know there is room for plenty of improvement when the tie is settled under the lights at Elland Road on Thursday.
01:54 PM BST
FULL-TIME: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
We are exactly were we started. Neither side showed any ambition and I cannot remember any really gilt-edge chances. Leeds will be the happier of the two.
01:50 PM BST
90 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
There will be four minutes of added time. I’m thinking no goals will be scored and it will remain 0-0.
01:49 PM BST
89 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Leeds are in the Norwich box, James robs Nunez before dinking in a ball to the back post. From there Firpo volleys in a cross that the hosts deal with well.
01:46 PM BST
87 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Free-kick for Norwich, it’s 35 yards out and guess what happens? If you answered ‘not much’ you’d be bang on. The ball goes into the box and goes over the byline for a goal kick.
01:44 PM BST
83 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Change for the hosts: Sargent is limping off (Norwich wil hope it’s nothing that counts him out of Thursday’s second leg) and on comes Sydney van Hooijdonk, son of the former Celtic and Forest striker Pierre.
01:41 PM BST
80 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Archie Gray shoots with his left, it’s deflected for a corner. From the resulting set piece absolutely nothing is created. Leeds will be the happier of the two is it stays like this. And based on what we’ve seen so far it will absolutely stay like this...
01:38 PM BST
77 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Leeds earn a corner after some neat build-up play on the right. Can they create something from this? ‘Nope’ is the long and short of it, like so much of this match the ball into the box is poor and Norwich’s defence isn’t troubled.
01:36 PM BST
74 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
About as entertaining as this match has been.
01:34 PM BST
74 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Change for Norwich: Giannoulis makes way for McCallum.
01:33 PM BST
72 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
This has been a risk-free match so far. Players are solid but not spectacular...this game is crying out for a bit of magic, someone to back themselves to do something vaguely out of the ordinary...
01:29 PM BST
69 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Changes for Leeds. Rutter and Gnoto off, Piroe and Anthony on.
01:28 PM BST
67 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Free-kick for the hosts, it’s about 30 yards out and the debate is whether to shot or cross. Nunez decides decides to shoot, it hits the wall and goes over the byline for a corner. From this set piece Leeds defend well and clear the danger. You think if a goal is to come it will be from a set piece.
01:25 PM BST
65 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Gabriel Sara does well on the left before chipping in a cross that Sargent nearly gets on the end of, about as good a chance as Norwich have had.
01:23 PM BST
63 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Still a lot of shadow boxing at Carrow Road.
01:21 PM BST
60 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Change for Norwich: Rowe’s first start since January is over as he is replaced by Fasnacht.
01:19 PM BST
57 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Angus Gunn has something to do! Firpo crosses from the left and Summerville latches on to it before lashing a shot at the near post that the Norwich keeper does well to deal with.
01:16 PM BST
55 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
‘Sunday-afternoon stroll’ sums up this match so far...not a bad day for it, alas this is a football match and not a meander down your local park...The longer this goes on the happier Leeds will be.
01:13 PM BST
52 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
BREAKING NEWS: There’s been a half-decent chance at Carrow Road! The ball comes in from the left and Gabriel Sara’s first-time, left-footed shot goes just wide of the near post. Possibly should have got that on target but, such has been the match so far, he earns a round of applause from his manager, David Wagner.
01:11 PM BST
50 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Still no real chances created at Carrow Road, if you’re a neutral you may well have decided to do the washing up or something else that promises to be mildly more entertaining than this ‘cagey affair’
01:09 PM BST
48 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Rowe plays a delightful ball for Sainz but the forward cannot get the ball from out of his feet and is well tackled.
01:05 PM BST
47 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
You think that the longer the game goes on the more Norwich will have to open up and try and take lead to Elland Road.
01:03 PM BST
45 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
They’re back under way at Carrow Road, can one of these sides make the opposition goalkeeper earn his living?
12:58 PM BST
Leeds will be the happier side
Norwich shaded a first-half that saw energy levels drop after a frantic start. Leeds will feel they should have had a penalty early on however when Borja Sainz appeared to manhandle Wilfried Gnonto to the turf. Did the Spaniard get a touch on the ball with a swinging leg? If so it might have saved his side.
As did an extremely tight offside call against Georginio Rutter just before Shane Duffy’s error allowed Junior Firpo to poke into an empty net. Leeds can feel aggrieved about those two decisions – referee Josh Smith further angered the away section by booking Gnonto for sarcastic clapping – but overall 0-0 suits them fine.
12:50 PM BST
Raise a leg
12:47 PM BST
HALF-TIME: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Not much to really speak of in that half. It’s been the dictionary definition of a ‘cagey affair’.
12:46 PM BST
43 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
It’s worth remembering that both these sides came into this match with patchy form. This first half reveals that quite well. It’s been tight, solid, but not really entertaining.
12:44 PM BST
40 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Free-kick for the hosts. It’s on the edge of the final third and a good chance to put Leeds under pressure. But as with so much of this match so far nothing comes of it. Forty minutes in and this match is jam-packed of ‘nearlys’ but no chances. Both keepers have been, for the most part, spectators.
12:41 PM BST
38 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Sky Sports have just shown a visual that shows where the ‘average’ position of each player for Leeds has been. All bar two are in their own half. They certainly are sitting deep but this being the first of a two-legged affair means that’s no real shock with the second clash taking place in West Yorkshire.
12:38 PM BST
35 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
You feel that the hosts need to take some sort of lead to Elland Road so the way this first half has gone will suit the visitors more than Norwich.
12:37 PM BST
30 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Leeds coming more into the match, still no real chances created however.
12:32 PM BST
28 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
The ball is in the back of the net for Leeds as Firpo pounces on a couple of mistakes from Gunn and Duffy after some great one-touch passing in midfield from the visitors. Alas, there was an offside in the build up and it does not count. The Norwich defence, however, didn’t know that and are very lucky to see the flag go up .
12:29 PM BST
25 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
This match is a bit ‘shadow boxing’ at the moment. No real gilt-edged chances to speak of so far, but Norwich are seeing more of the ball.
12:26 PM BST
23 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
More good signs for Norwich as they earn a corner on the right. Can they create something from this? Once again the answer is ‘no’ as Leeds head away the danger.
12:23 PM BST
20 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Well-worked move from the hosts ends with Sargent laying the ball off to Nunez whose shot is high, wide and not so handsome. More promising signs for Norwich, though.
12:21 PM BST
18 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Corner for the hosts comes via a free-kick, bit of pressure from Norwich. Leeds defend the initial ball but then concede another free-kick. Good opportunity for Norwich to create something, alas the visitors clear their lines well. But good spell for the hosts nonetheless.
12:17 PM BST
15 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
First real chance for the hosts comes thanks to Stacy’s great ball from the right which Sargent’s head nearly gets on the end of.
12:15 PM BST
13 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Corner for Leeds is drilled into the near post and Rodon nearly gets on the end of it. Norwich then counter at pace but nothing comes of the attack.
This match is simmering nicely.
12:12 PM BST
11 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
Still no real chance created as Leeds come more and more into this match.
12:12 PM BST
8 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
There’s a penalty shout for Leeds as Gnoto falls under a challenge. It’s not given and it’s not overly hard to see why. 1. It was six of one and half a dozen of the other, and, 2. Whatever contact their was was outside the box.
12:08 PM BST
5 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
First real opening of the match goes to Leeds as Gnoto glides into the final third on the right, gets his head up and plays a low ball into the box, Rutter then proceeds to ‘swing and a miss’ it and the chance goes begging. That was the visitors’ first real bit of possession.
12:06 PM BST
4 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
It’s been all Norwich so far, Wagner wanted a good start and despite no chances being created it’s been a promising opening from the hosts.
12:03 PM BST
2 mins: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
First corner of the day goes to the hosts. Can they create something from this? ‘Nope’ is the long and shot of it, as Leeds clear their lines well. But decent enough start from Norwich...
12:01 PM BST
1 min: Norwich City 0 Leeds United 0
They’re under way at Carrow Road, Norwich are in their canary yellow and Leeds in their famous white.
11:57 AM BST
The teams are in the tunnel...
...and kick-off is moments away.
11:52 AM BST
Danial Farke: ‘ We can’t rely on the past’
“[We beat them twice this season] but it doesn’t matter. It’s a new game it won’t help us in this game. If we rely on the past it’s not good.”
11:50 AM BST
David Wagner: ‘Underdogs can be dangerous’
“The regular season is done, we know underdogs can be dangerous and aggressive.”
11:49 AM BST
“If you ain’t first, you’re last.”
Bit harsh, but for Leeds fans heading into today’s match it may well (annoyingly) resonate quite well...
READ: Leeds bid to end play-off curse as vultures circle for their prize talent
11:37 AM BST
Norwich are ‘match ready’
Not a bad state to be in ahead of a BIG game...
Match ready 💛 pic.twitter.com/pnKczfh0ix
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) May 12, 2024
11:35 AM BST
How are Leeds fans feeling?
Here’s Leeds fan, author of the brilliant ‘The Biography of Leeds United: The Story of the Whites’, and Telegraph Sport’s very own Rob Bagchi on the mood in West Riding...
Daniel Farke’s stated mission this week is to dispel the pessimism that takes hold of Leeds United and argue that while the supporters may have mental scars, his players don’t. And yet fear has always been the default mode going into the play-offs. This is their and my sixth ordeal and we have blown each one. But as all readers of Gramsci know, “my mind is pessimistic, but my will is optimistic”. They have the talent to record a third victory over Norwich this season but a lot depends on Farke’s ability to cure the anxiety that destroyed their automatic promotion hopes in April.
11:25 AM BST
So how are Norwich feeling ahead of this crucial match?
Well, here’s an interview with David Wagner that answers that question...
READ: David Wagner interview: A call from Delia Smith turned Norwich’s season around
11:09 AM BST
Norwich City vs Leeds United starting line-ups (in black and white)
Norwich City
Gunn, Stacey, Duffy, Gibson, Giannoulis, Nunez, McLean, Gabriel Sara, Rowe, Sainz, Sargent.
Subs: Hanley, Long, van Hooijdonk, McCallum, Fassnacht, Sorensen, Batth, Fisher, Welch.
Leeds United
Meslier, Byram, Rodon, Ampadu, Firpo, Gruev, Kamara, Gnonto, Gray, Summerville, Rutter.
Subs: Cresswell, Cooper, Piroe, Anthony, Shackleton, James, Darlow, Roberts, Fernandez.
Referee: Josh Smith (Lincolnshire)
11:04 AM BST
Norwich City’s starting XI (and bench) has been announced
Our team for today's first leg 💛@Jonathanrowe__ starts for the first time since January 💪 pic.twitter.com/I3wSh4rJ4B
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) May 12, 2024
11:03 AM BST
And the Leeds United line-up looks a little like this . . .
📋 Your #LUFC Starting XI... pic.twitter.com/7MQeo8l3Kf
— Leeds United (@LUFC) May 12, 2024
11:01 AM BST
‘Temperature’s rising. Fever is high’
Looking boisterous outside Carrow Road . . .
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) May 12, 2024
. . . where Leeds United have arrived.
🚌 Arrived in East Anglia! pic.twitter.com/y8KOHFtiuK
— Leeds United (@LUFC) May 12, 2024
10:46 AM BST
‘It’s the hope that kills’
The play-offs are the matches where the phrase ‘it’s the hope that kills’ is most apt. The Premier League is tantalisingly close, you can almost reach out and touch it, but to get there you’ll likely have to endure a rollercoaster of emotions ranging from ‘we’re going to do it, we’re going to get into the top flight’ to ‘on the plus side, we’d get murdered every week in the Premier League. Didn’t really want to go up anyway...’.
Those will be some of the thoughts of Leeds and Norwich fans over the next two matches the pair will fight it out in as they bid to get to Wembley to face either West Brom or Southampton. Having spoken to fans of both clubs there is a sense among a fair few that it’s almost a win-win situation: get promoted and you have the fun of pitting your wits against teams such as Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal on a weekly basis. Stay in the Championship and you get to avoid getting spanked by teams such as Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal on a weekly basis.
All in all it’s not exactly the most romantic sporting tale out there, one in which the joy of victory is quickly overshadowed by the dread of what might happen. The streets may be paved with gold in the Premier League, but for promoted teams there’s a good chance you’ll get run over on them.
Norwich and Leeds head into their play-off semi-final already with a bit of fear and trepidation. Today’s hosts drew two and lost one of their final three games of the regular season, while the visitors picked up only four points from their final five matches. Hardly confidence-inducing form.
But the thing about the play-offs is that whatever you did before counts for nothing, this is a straight shootout between four teams to get into the Premier League, a mini-tournament where (financial) dreams can come true TM.
Stay here to find out whether Norwich or Leeds are more likely to be worrying about top-flight torment later on.
🏟️ Carrow Road, Norwich pic.twitter.com/FrLRefunhl
— Leeds United (@LUFC) May 12, 2024
