Wales fans are up in arms after Leeds United captain Ethan Ampadu was involved in a controversial incident in the crucial qualifier against Belgium.
Having fallen to a heavy 3-0 defeat against England, Wales’ Leeds United contingent had a point to prove in the World Cup qualifier.
Wales’ night got off to a perfect start as Leeds defender Joe Rodon opened the scoring with a bullet header, after also impressing against England.
However, his Leeds teammate Ethan Ampadu was at the centre of a controversy after he was penalised for handball, resulting in a penalty for the visitors.
Former Manchester City player Kevin de Bruyne made no mistake from 12 yards out, sending Karl Darlow the wrong way and causing the Wales fanbase to go into meltdown online.
Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty ImagesWales fans slam Ethan Ampadu penalty decision
Ampadu was penalised for a handball in his own box, as the ball struck his arm from close range. Although the ball clearly hit his arm, there was little that the Leeds man could have done, given the proximity of the strike.
Welsh fans reacted angrily on the social media site X (formerly Twitter). One fan summed up the mood, stating: “That was a shocking decision to award a penalty for Belgium! What’s Ampadu to do?!? Ref took 5-10 seconds to decide!”
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Another fan echoed this sentiment, arguing that Ampadu could not put his arm anywhere else, posting: “How is that a handball? He’s a yard away, Ampadu can’t put his arm anywhere else. Ridiculous.”
One angry fan argued that the VAR process had failed, writing: “Never a penalty. People are being punished constantly for natural movement. VAR is s—. A handball should be a deliberate attempt to alter the ball’s path. Ampadu never in a million years intended to do anything with the ball there.”
Where Ampadu supposed to put his hand there 🤯?
— Pete Jones (@PeteGJ90) October 13, 2025
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The referee watched several replays before deciding to punish Ampadu. One fan believes handballs should only be judged in real time, as they argued: “These penalty replays on the small screens need to be played at normal speed rather than slowed down.
“What is Ampadu supposed to do? Refs have been robbing us this entire campaign”
Another fan speculated that strikers could now start aiming for people’s arms deliberately, stating: “If that’s a penalty, you may as well just start aiming at the defender’s arm from 2 yards away. Absolutely pathetic, what is Ampadu meant to do?”
Ampadu can feel hard done by there.
Just isn’t handball. It’s so warped.— Adrian (@AyJayL) October 13, 2025
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Danny Gabbidon questions decision against Leeds United man
The referee’s decision was not only questioned by fans online, as former Premier League and Wales defender Danny Gabbidon criticised the penalty.
According to Gabbidon, Belgium did not deserve their equaliser, although they added a second goal shortly after their penalty.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Gabbidon said: “Ampadu can’t do anything about that, but the threshold in international football is very different than what we see week-to-week. You see these decisions given, but I think it’s ridiculous.”
Before adding: “Wales started the game so well, you can’t say Belgium deserved that, they’ve not got going at all, and they’ve been given a lifeline by the referee.
“If you’re a forward, why wouldn’t you purposely try and kick the ball on the defender’s hand?”