Patrick Bamford Fumes At Referee: ‘So I Have To Dive?’ After Failing To Get Blatant Penalty

Patrick Bamford admitted he was "fuming with the referee" after the Leeds striker failed to get penalty, having stayed on his feet after a foul in the box by Southampton keeper Alex McCarthy.

Leeds went on to win the game 2-0, Bamford scoring the opener. But earlier in the game, McCarthy appeared to clearly catch the striker's ankle as he was running through on goal.

Bamford stumbled but stayed upright and, when no penalty was given - either by the referee Peter Bankes or via VAR - he could be seen repeatedly saying to the ref: "So I have to dive?"

The Leeds No 9 was asked about the incident post-match and admitted: "I was fuming with the referee.

"Everyone is saying modern footballers go down too easy. But when you stay on your feet, you get punished and don't get a penalty, because if he [McCarthy] doesn't touch me, then I don't stumble and I can roll it into an empty net - and if I go down, I get a penalty.

"So I shouldn't be punished for trying to stay up. I think that's something they've got to look at.

"If you don't want players to dive - and you want to take it out of the game - then stop encouraging them to do so by not giving decisions like that."

Asked by the BBC if VAR should have intervened in an incident the on-field referee might have missed, Bamford replied: "Well, the referee said he didn't touch me and I said, 'Yeah, he did, check it.'

"He said, 'It's been checked, there's nothing.' So, for me, it's a penalty."

The 27-year-old forward's eloquent complaint is a common one among modern footballers. Fans and pundits regularly bemoan players going down too easily under contact.

However the counterargument is that if a player successfully stays on his feet after being fouled in the box, they do not regularly get a penalty. Hence Bamford's "Do I have to dive?" complaint.

At least the Leeds attacker registered his 16th goal of the season later in the game as his side rose to eighth in the table after the win at St Mary's.

Does Bamford have a point about players having to dive to draw attention to fouls in the box? Let us know in the comments.

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