Shaun Wright-Phillips has claimed that Luis Sinisterra’s sending-off during Leeds United’s goalless draw against Aston Villa on Sunday was ‘pathetic’, as he told Premier League Productions (02/10/22 at 6:40 pm).
The 23-year-old was shown two yellow cards in quick succession in the second half and Wright-Phillips thinks the summer signing’s inexperience kicked in.
There wasn’t much between the two teams after the first 45 minutes, but given how the game had a cagey and aggressive nature to it, there was a feeling something controversial was going to happen.
Well, Sinisterra opened that door when he, at first fouled John McGinn, and picked up a yellow card for his efforts.
And then, moments later, he blocked Villa from taking a quick free-kick and was then shown a second yellow by on-field referee Stuart Attwell, which resulted in an early bath for the winger.
Wright-Phillips didn’t disagree with the on-field call by Attwell and he just felt that Sinisterra’s actions were just ‘silly’.
“This one (first yellow), he kind of loses his head,” said Wright-Phillips. “He loses the ball with the pass and has two nibbles at him, which stops Aston Villa on the break, which kind of sets the pace for him.
“After that, he has to be a little bit smarter. I think he might be a little young and inexperienced.
“But just to do this (second yellow) is just silly and pathetic, to be honest with you, especially given that he is that close to the ball.”
REFEREE STUART ATTWELL FIRMLY IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The Leeds fans inside Elland Road weren’t a happy bunch because they felt that referee Stuart Attwell didn’t manage the game too well.
In regards to the biggest call he made, the sending-off, that was Sinisterra’s own doing and his own fault only, so the right call was made.
But the Elland Road faithful can rightfully question why Leon Bailey wasn’t booked in the first half for kicking the ball away, yet Sinisterra was punished for his actions.
Either way, it was a fighting performance from Leeds, who dug in to secure a deserved clean sheet, despite being down to ten men for most of the second half.