Leeds played West Ham at the London Stadium, cheered on by 9,000 traveling fans, in the FA Cup semi-final, hoping to qualify for Wembley.
Leeds manager Daniel Farke before the FA Cup quarter-final match against West Ham at the London Stadium
Leeds United were embroiled in a bizarre penalty shoot-out dispute ahead of the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Leeds manager Daniel Farke arrived at West Ham only to be told that if the score were tied and the game went to penalties, he must not trigger a shoot-out in front of the away team. The move is believed to have been carried out for safety reasons after consultation with police and a local safety advisory group.
The match ended in a penalty shootout, with the referee apparently flipping a coin to decide which side would receive a spot kick. Mirror Sport understands that the FA, in conjunction with the relevant authorities, will allow safety officials to decide which side should there be a safety concern or risk.
However, a shot to one end would be considered an advantage, and the referee would flip a coin to determine which end and which team would bat first, potentially creating a very unusual and unprecedented situation.
read more: Ball numbers confirmed for FA Cup semi-final draw as Chelsea and Man City learn their fateread more: FA Cup semi-final draw live: Man City, Chelsea and Southampton find out their opponents
Leeds are bringing 9,000 fans to West Ham and there will be a large police presence for security and security around the match. West Ham have described this as a “dynamic” decision based on safety, which will only be reviewed if necessary.
Leeds have already won a penalty shootout against Birmingham City this season, while West Ham won a penalty shootout at home to the away end in front of 5,000 Brentford fans.
9,000 Leeds fans turned up to watch the match against Leeds
Ironically, Leeds ended up winning a penalty, albeit in normal times, in front of loud cheers after Max Kilman fouled Brenden Aaronson and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Leeds 2-0 up.
Leeds were in full control after that, but the game went into extra time after West Ham scored twice in the 11th minute of stoppage time.
Manchester City remain favorites after defeating Liverpool on Saturday. Chelsea defeated League One strugglers Port Vale with seven players before Southampton pulled off the upset by beating Arsenal.
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