{"id":707844,"date":"2026-01-20T04:21:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T04:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/707844\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T04:21:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T04:21:14","slug":"leeds-united-robbed-of-11-point-gap-to-west-ham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/707844\/","title":{"rendered":"Leeds United robbed of 11-point gap to West Ham"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leeds United\u2019s<\/a> last-minute winner was a huge win in the grand scheme of the season, but was dampened somewhat by West Ham<\/a> also snatching a win late on at Spurs.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The tension at the bottom end of the Premier League is unlikely to dissipate any time soon for Leeds or any of their neighbours.<\/p>\n

This weekend just gone, though, was a hugely positive one for each side. Every side from 20th-placed Wolves up to Leeds in 16th all avoided defeat, as the Whites won at home to Fulham<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most Read on LeedsAllOver<\/p>\n

West Ham snatch all three points with stunning away derby win over Spurs<\/p>\n

As Leeds looked to get the better of Fulham at Elland Road<\/a>, West Ham were tasked with a local derby against Spurs away from home.<\/p>\n

Neither side went into the game in particularly high spirits. But, Dr Tottenham<\/a> was on hand to prescribe the Irons picked up a much-needed first win since November 8th.<\/p>\n

Crysencio Summerville<\/a> cut inside in typical fashion and saw his deflected effort give West Ham the lead. That was his third goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after a brace for Leeds back in November 2022.<\/p>\n

\"\"West Ham\u2019s Callum Wilson scores the winner against Spurs. (REUTERS\/Tony O Brien)<\/p>\n

Openings at both ends went begging before an unstoppable header from Cristian Romero restored parity.<\/p>\n

However, as both sides searched for a late winner, Callum Wilson was the man<\/a> to get it for Nuno Espirito Santo. First denied by Pedro Porro\u2019s last-ditch block for a corner, Wilson profited from Guglielmo Vicario flapping at a cross under his crossbar, as Wilson prodded in a winner deep in added time.<\/p>\n

West Ham should have lost the game as Spurs were robbed of clear handball and penalty<\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t be a week of Premier League action without VAR controversially in the spotlight. That was the case here in North London.<\/p>\n

As Leeds hoped for more woe for the Irons, they were handed an incredibly fortunate lifeline at 1-1. As Conor Gallagher drove to the by-line in the 84th minute, controlled a diagonal pass from Djed Spence. Looking to cross, the ball then glanced off the outstretched arm of back-tracking West Ham man Ollie Scarles.<\/p>\n

\"\"Spurs\u2019 Conor Gallagher crosses the ball after what appeared to be handball from West Ham\u2019s Ollie Scarles. (Action Images via Reuters\/Andrew Couldridge)<\/p>\n

VAR briefly checked the decision before deciding not to instruct Jarred Gillet over to the pitchside monitor. <\/p>\n

Had West Ham been punished for what looked a fairly clear cut handling of the ball in the penalty area, it would likely have seen them lose the game, rather than win it. As a result, Leeds could have been looking at an 11-point gap to the bottom three instead of eight.<\/p>\n

The Handball rule is so confusing \u2013 Leeds United harmed three times in 2026 by controversial decisions<\/p>\n

Already in 2026, Leeds have been hampered three times and helped once by the handball rule. It\u2019s clearly too confusing for inconsistent officials to get right.<\/p>\n

First, Ethan Ampadu is booked and given a one-match ban for controlling the ball around the \u2018shirt line\u2019 of his arm. In this instance, not only is the ambiguous definition of a shirt line up for contention, but it was not an \u2018intentional\u2019 handball either. It meant Ampadu missed our game against Man United<\/a>, where his presence could have helped us win.<\/p>\n

Then, at Newcastle United, two handballs were penalised for penalties<\/a>. Both Leeds and Magpies fans bickering about the rulings of both. Aaronson\u2019s arm for Bruno Guimaraes\u2019 penalty in stoppage time wasn\u2019t actually in an unnatural position. It was made to look unnatural by virtue of a football hitting him at high speed.<\/p>\n

Now, you\u2019ve got West Ham avoiding punishment for a player stretching his arm out in the box and diverting the ball (even if it\u2019s slight). I think what saved him is the lack of appeal from Gallagher.<\/p>\n

That being said, the rules have to be streamlined, because it\u2019s just complete nonsense.<\/p>\n

Read more: 3 alternatives to Jorgen Strand Larsen that Leeds United must consider.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leeds United\u2019s last-minute winner was a huge win in the grand scheme of the season, but was dampened…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":707845,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8814],"tags":[748,25764,393,4884,1860,2922,142361,142362,1368,16,15,1927],"class_list":{"0":"post-707844","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leeds","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-elland-road","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-leeds","13":"tag-leeds-united","14":"tag-lufc","15":"tag-the-whites","16":"tag-tottenham","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-west-ham"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115925515364352857","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=707844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/707845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=707844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=707844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=707844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}