Leeds United’s dramatic stoppage-time winner against Sunderland last night sparked wild scenes around Elland Road.
However, referee Stuart Attwell put a dampener on things by booking Leeds manager Daniel Farke for celebrating with his players and staff on the pitch.
The German will now be suspended for next week’s huge Championship fixture against Sheffield United, which is a ridiculous state of affairs.
Keep Premier League officials away from the Championship
Scoring a 95th-minute winner against one of your main promotion rivals is a moment worthy of celebration – unless your name is Attwell.
The Leeds manager has every right to feel aggrieved. If he had run over to the Sunderland bench to trigger a reaction, a booking would have been warranted.
Issuing a yellow card in those circumstances may be sticking to the letter of the law, but it has no relation to the spirit of the game.
Given that he is a Premier League referee, Attwell should not be assigned Championship games, regardless of their importance.
There are plenty of decent Championship officials who deserve the opportunity to oversee a crucial promotion clash.
Parachuting top flight officials into games further down the pyramid often causes controversy and is a practice which should be stopped.
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