The handball goal against Rotherham United earlier in the season was discussed by Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford, who shared that the referee had questioned him about whether he had handled the ball.
Leeds has won 12 of 13 games in 2024 thanks to their recent string of impressive Championship performances, which have propelled them to the top of the standings.
One of those was a simple 3-0 victory over Rotherham United, which was controversially began when Patrick Bamford looked to have handled the ball.
Against the Millers, Junior Firpo’s low cross caused a deflection that sent the ball goalbound and maybe into the palms of goalie Viktor Johansson.
Bamford was in the path of the ball along the way, but he was too far away to get a definitive touch. Instead, he stuck out his elbow toward the ball, appearing to get a glimpse on it, and sent it past Johansson.
Bamford whirled away in triumph, mockingly pointing his elbow out to the East Stand despite protestations from the opposition team.
Bamford discusses handball strategy in the wake of the Rotherham scandal.
Recently, Bamford discussed his thoughts on the handball goal in an interview with comedian Joe Wilkinson on the My Mate’s A Footballer podcast.
“I’m not sure how to phrase this. I didn’t run to the ball and think I was going to handball it on purpose. Junior (Firpo) crossed the ball as I was attacking the near post, and it clearly bounced out of my path, causing the ball to come towards me.
“I thought at the moment, ‘it’s pretty near to me but I can’t quite get it with my body, so I’m just going to nudge it with my elbow,’ but it deflected and then was out of reach, falling into the ‘keeper’s hands.
I thought, “That’s really subtle, no one can see that, it looks like it’s come off my chest,” and I gave it a little shove with my elbow. Then I raced away. I tried to make it appear normal as I ran away, but as I turned to look back, I saw that their players were clearly going crazy and that the referee had awarded a goal. I foolishly celebrated by tapping my elbow.
“After the goal was already scored, a player asked if I had handballed. I replied in the affirmative, and the referee asked, ‘Did it touch your hand?'” And since it touched my elbow, I had to say no. No, it didn’t touch my hand, I said. He talked to me in the tunnel at halftime, saying to “Did you insert it using your arm?” I asked. “To be honest, it came off my elbow, but don’t hold it against us,” I said. He responded, “I appreciate your honesty, but it’s not my job to balance it up. From where I was, I couldn’t see, and I didn’t want to guess and disallow a goal.”
Even though he tricked everyone on the field, including the referee, by handling the ball into the net, he had the bravery to admit it when the official was powerless to stop it.
In that situation, every Leeds or Rotherham supporter would act in the same way, so there’s no need to make a big deal out of it—especially considering that we easily defeated the Millers.