Leam Richardson makes Leeds United ‘quality’ admission but questions ‘unprofessional’ moment

Leam Richardson, the manager of Rotherham United, disclosed that referee Andy Madley had expressed regret for missing what could have been a handball by Patrick Bamford in Leeds United’s first goal of the game yesterday.

At Elland Road, the ball seemed to go in off the arm of the Leeds striker to give the home team the lead. Crysencio Summerville then scored twice to seal the victory. Richardson acknowledged that the White side was in the majority but refrained from criticizing the authorities too harshly.

With the victory, Leeds moves up to third position in the standings, one spot ahead of Southampton and the Millers, who are currently in the bottom half of the Championship and just 12 points above the drop zone, risking relegation to League One.

“I thought we started the game in the ascendancy and the goal hasn’t cost the result but it’s led to a large part of it with the handball, so you’re disappointed for the players with the work ethic they’ve put in,” Richardson said.

“Congratulations to Leeds, though; you can see why they’re there—you can see the caliber of the players and what can happen when you give them opportunities. Given the outcome, I believe Leeds’ two goals within the final ten minutes of play decided the game.

“Their first objective was frustrating in the way the decision was made, as I believe it was a simple one. Nonetheless, I have the utmost respect for the officiating team; they have a zillion decisions to make.

“Andy has apologized, but after the game, I didn’t really appreciate that the linesman on this side was making jokes and laughing with Patrick. Although I believe that to be unprofessional, we’ll move past it and not use it as an excuse. That’s the lesson they should learn to improve themselves.”