Leeds have released a statement after Patrick Bamford was allegedly subject to vile abuse and death threats following the Whites’ draw against Newcastle at Elland Road
Leeds have condemned the horrific abuse aimed at Patrick Bamford after he missed a penalty in the Whites’ 2-2 draw against Newcastle on Saturday.
Bamford, 29, squandered the chance to hand Leeds a two-goal lead from the penalty spot following Luke Ayling’s opener. However, his effort was well saved by England’s Nick Pope.
Newcastle went immediately down the other end and levelled as Callum Wilson kept his composure to slot his penalty into the bottom corner. The Magpies turned the game on its head after the break when Wilson grabbed his second, but they couldn’t hold on as Leeds equalised late on through Rasmus Kristiansen.
After missing the penalty, Bamford was subjected to online abuse including death threats from supporters as Leeds missed the opportunity to move outside the relegation zone. The club also confirmed that Bamford’s family had also been targeted by fans.
A club statement read: “Leeds Utd condemn social media death threats towards Patrick Bamford and family. Overnight Patrick Bamford and his family have received completely unacceptable online abuse including several threats via Twitter. The time for this behaviour to stop is now.
“Those making threats do not reflect our fan base and are not welcome at our club. We would like to thank all those supporters who have reached out to Patrick and his family to show their support.”
Leeds now have two matches to secure their place in the Premier League next season and face West Ham and Tottenham in their remaining games. They sit one point adrift of 17th-place Everton following the Toffees’ thumping 3-0 defeat against leaders Manchester City on Sunday.
Speaking after the Whites’ draw against Newcastle, new boss Sam Allardyce said: “A fair scoreline would have been a victory for us. Spirit we showed and commitment, at 2-0 we would have gone on. Silly penalties.
“Stayed in the game, very good. Shot ourselves in the foot quite often, but showed enough to say if we cut out those mistakes we can get three points. Playing third in the league and should have won it. Our fault we did not win but missing a penalty and giving two away.”
Allardyce also had his say on Bamford’s missed penalty. He added: “Left it how it was. Hadn’t seen any of them taking penalties. I would have thought Rodrigo would have snatched it away if really wanted it. That puts you under even more pressure to score. It can happen to anybody. Happened to us at the worst possible time.”
Leeds could drop back to 19th in the table should Leicester pick up a minimum of a draw in their home game against Liverpool on Monday night. Fellow relegation rivals Nottingham Forest secured a vital point at Chelsea, while Southampton were relegated with a 2-0 defeat against Fulham.
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