Skip to Content

Raphinha left seething as Leeds United fan refuses to return ball with clock ticking down at Elland Road

Raphinha left seething as Leeds United fan refuses to return ball with clock ticking down at Elland Road

Leeds United welcomed Chelsea in front of a sold-out Elland Road yesterday, with their survival hopes hanging in the balance. 

In a similar vein to their encounter against Arsenal, the Peacocks were breached within the first 10 minutes. In another similar event, Dan James, just like Luke Ayling at the Emirates, got sent off for a rash challenge.

With Leeds a man down, the visitors piled on the pressure, eventually winning 3-0.

While there was plenty to criticize about the Whites’ display, the home support wasn’t exactly up to par as well. 

Leeds fans reportedly booed Mateo Kovacic as he limped off the pitch, even though his injury occurred due to a rash challenge from their own player. Homophobic chants were also heard, coming from a small section of the home support. 

Aside from this, supporters nearly caused harm for their home team. 

As seen in this clip, the ball goes out of play and is in possession of a Leeds supporter. An argument breaks out among the fans, in response, the woman latches onto the ball and says “it’s our ball!”. 

The camera zooms into Marcos Alonso, waiting by the touchline, with the most satisfying smile on his face, meme-worthy material. 

Soon, a frustrated Raphinha enters the scene and angrily pleads for the ball to be returned. Eventually, the ball is tossed back into play, not without a few valuable seconds going down the drain for the home side. 

https://twitter.com/CarefreelewisG2/status/1524546018628579328

When the clip emerged online, users were baffled at this fan’s cluelessness, perhaps it was just an attempt at grabbing a souvenir. 

Leeds’ bid for survival continues to get tougher. They now sit in the bottom three, level on points with Burnley, who have a game in hand.