Aston Villa boss Dean Smith’s hits back at Leeds’ Twitter jibe over ‘ghost goal’ vs Sheffield United
Aston Villa boss Dean Smith insists Sheffield United’s ‘ghost goal’ is not comparable to what happened in his side’s draw against Leeds in their Championship encounter last season.
Villa played out a controversial goalless draw with the Blades in the Premier League’s first game back amid the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday night.
The ball had clearly crossed the line and Hawk-Eye subsequently apologised to Sheffield United
However, Smith’s men were fortunate to come away with a point as Hawk-Eye technology failed to spot Villa goalkeeper Orjan Nyland clearly carrying Oliver Norwood’s free-kick over the line in the first-half.
Leeds were quick to suggest Villa should have given Sheffield United a free goal as they tweeted: “FAO [for for the attention of] @AVFCOfficial #FairPlay.”
The Whites were referencing last season’s 1-1 stalemate against Villa at Elland Road.
Mateusz Klich gave Leeds a 1-0 lead, despite Villa’s players urging their promotion rivals to put the ball out as Jonathan Kodjia lay injured on the floor.
It led to Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa instructing his players to allow Villa winger Albert Adomah a free run at goal – which brought the visitors level.
Asked if he saw comparisons between the Leeds and Sheffield United incidents, Smith said: “It was totally different because about five minutes before [Leeds] scored they had a player down injured and we put the ball out.
Nyland was in luck that his error did not lead to a goal
“And then five minutes later we had a player down injured, our players stopped, and they carried on.
“Their manager rightly thought it was the right thing to do – that’s sporting integrity, this is technology.”
Smith sympathises with the Blades, who would have climbed up to fifth in the Premier League table had they beaten Villa.
He added: “There’s always going to be human error because we have referees and officials who are refereeing the games and that’s acceptable.
“This is the first time it’s happened in 9,000 game for Hawk-Eye to fail. But we’re very reliant on it.
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“Everybody wanted goal-line technology and I can honestly say I’m stood in the stand, and myself and my coaches, and [Sheffield United manager] Chris Wilder and [assistant boss] Alan Knill, we never knew the ball had crossed the line at the time.
“We’re reliant on the referees and the officials and we’re looking at the them and they indicated that it hadn’t crossed the line.
“It’s only a couple of minutes later when the analysts all look at the still pictures and say, ‘it’s over the line,’ and you actually know it’s gone over.
“I feel sorry for Sheffield United and I would feel aggrieved if [the shoe] was on the other foot.”
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