“Did Leeds fall victim to referee error? Former PGMOL official Keith Hackett reacts swiftly to Ao Tanaka’s disallowed goal in Middlesbrough v Leeds, calling it a ‘huge error’ by the linesman.”
Ao Tanaka was visibly frustrated when his first-half goal against Middlesbrough was disallowed in Leeds’ 1-0 victory at Riverside on Tuesday night.
Manor Solomon’s cross from the left found Tanaka, who timed his run into the six-yard box perfectly. However, as soon as the Japan international powered the ball over the line, the nearside linesman raised his flag to rule out the Leeds midfielder’s effort.
Sky Sports’ replays seemed to clearly show that Tanaka was played onside by Boro’s Hayden Hackney.
Keith Hackett: Linesman Made a ‘Huge’ Error
Tanaka has been one of Leeds’ standout performers this season, and his fifth goal for the club against a strong Middlesbrough side seemed well-deserved.
Keith Hackett, the former PGMOL general manager, agreed with that assessment, praising Tanaka’s perfectly timed run.
“Leeds have just had a perfectly good goal wrongly ruled out for an incorrect offside flag,” Hackett told MOT Leeds News. “Tanaka timed his run superbly, making sure he was onside when the ball was played to him. Huge error.”
Could VAR Be Introduced in the Championship?
It’s clear that Leeds would have wanted a VAR review of Tanaka’s disallowed goal against Middlesbrough.
Daniel Farke believes Leeds would have secured automatic promotion to the Premier League last season if VAR had been in use in the Championship.
However, should Leeds fail to win promotion this year, they will continue to face such on-field decisions, unless Farke is let go by club owner Paraag Marathe.
In October, EFL chief executive Trevor Birch told The Times that there were no plans to introduce VAR in the second tier, arguing that the league should maintain its “authentic” footballing style.
Of course, incidents like Tanaka’s disallowed goal against Middlesbrough challenge Birch’s stance, particularly when promotion to the Premier League is worth over £100 million due to the increased broadcast revenue.
