Krishnan Sreekumar
Leeds United may face FA investigation after Manchester United teenager Anthony Elanga is struck by missiles from home fans
Speaking after his side’s 4-2 win at Elland Road (h/t Daily Mail), Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick claimed that Leeds United are looking into an incident where Anthony Elanga was struck by objects thrown from the home fans, particularly a metal coin.
After heading into the break two goals down, Leeds fans thought they were back in the game when Rodrigo and Raphinha scored twice under a minute early in the second half. However, goals from super subs Fred and Anthony Elanga killed off the tie late in the half as United stamped their authority on the fixture.
Rangnick condemned the actions by the Leeds fans, who resorted to sending missiles aimed at the United players to show their frustrations about the goals scored against them.
“Obviously, things like that should not happen. At times we had to cool things down. This is what I did when I walked onto the pitch, I didn’t want anything to happen – no yellow or red cards.”
The German also went on the pitch towards the end of the game to try and break up a scuffle, as tensions rose between players. This came after the Peacocks supporters hurled objects at players in red as United celebrated their first and third goals.
Investigation pending
These actions from the home fans in the stands mean Leeds are likely to face an FA probe, once referee Paul Tierney submits his match report. Given that Elanga needed treatment for a head injury, the seriousness of the events must be taken into account as soon as possible.
Rangnick confirmed that an investigation was ongoing from Leeds’ side as well, and said that he was pleased for Elanga after the youngster scored their fourth goal against their rivals.
“As far as I know, there is some investigation going on from Leeds United. I don’t think anything happened in the end, Anthony Elanga looked well and was happy about scoring his goal.”
Elanga had the last laugh against the home support in the end, with the teenager finishing the game off for Leeds after scoring United’s fourth and extinguishing any chance of a comeback for the Elland Road outfit.
The FA will need to act quickly and take strict action against those guilty of these events, which could lead to disastrous consequences for players on the pitch. Although Elanga suffered what looked like a head injury and quickly recovered, there is no telling what could happen if he had been hit by something more dangerous.
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Football hooliganism seems to be a new evil rising in English football, with a similar incident at Goodison Park happening earlier this season. Fans need to understand that the players on the pitch are people who are just trying to earn a living by playing the sport.
Hopefully, the FA sees to it that those guilty are punished and these kinds of events can be curbed in the future. Although a bitter rival, it is also encouraging to see Leeds take matters into their own hands to deal with the situation and support our players in the aftermath of these incidents.
