Portsmouth v Leeds United: Ex-FIFA official reacts to Matt Ritchie incident
Portsmouth might have got away with one during their 1-0 win against Leeds United on Sunday.
Pompey welcomed the Championship leaders to Fratton Park on 9 March and came away with a huge three points.
A Colby Bishop effort in the second half left Illan Meslier in no man’s land and capped off an excellent performance from John Mousinho’s side.
With that being said, the result could have been so much different if referee Rob Jones had made a different call inside the opening 15 minutes.
Portsmouth got away with one v Leeds United, says Hackett
There were plenty of chances to score for both sides in PO4 but a stellar performance from Nicolas Schmid was enough to keep the Whites out.
Things could have been made more difficult for the Austrian shot stopper if the away side had been awarded a spot kick for a potential foul on Dan James.
The Wales international went down after seemingly being kicked through by Matt Ritchie inside the penalty area.
The Pompey winger may have got some of the ball but did take down the Leeds winger and somehow escaped without giving away a spot kick.
Former FIFA official Keith Hackett believes the way that James went down had an effect on the decision but believes Jones did get it wrong.
Speaking to MOT Leeds News (9 March), Hackett said: “Despite the exaggerated fall by the Leeds United player, he was the recipient of a careless challenge that should have resulted in a penalty kick
“Absolutely, the way he goes down impacts on the referees’ reaction.“
Portsmouth won’t care about Leeds penalty call
Although Mousinho would be fuming if this decision had gone against his side, they won’t care about it going in their favour.
Looking at it, it is bizarre that Jones never opted to give a penalty given how clear cut of a foul it seemed to be, but that is how it goes sometimes.
Pompey didn’t let this impact them and ultimately went on to dominate large spells of the game and were deserving of the win.
| Stat | Portsmouth | Leeds United |
| Possession | 43 | 57 |
| Big chances missed | 0 | 3 |
| Shots | 13 | 13 |
| Defensive actions | 29 | 15 |
Schmid was superb, Marlon Pack and Regan Poole were excellent at the back while Josh Murphy was electric on the flank at Fratton Park.
The result was deserved. Leeds missed their chances and were made to pay by missing out on three points for the first time since November.