Leeds United’s Wembley woes rule out Daniel Farke ahead of Norwich City clash

Making a trip to Wembley if Leeds United get there is the last thing Daniel Farke wants to do, but the first thing he expects now after 10 months at the club’s helm. The manager now knows all too well that if the Whites can make things tough, they will, and he doesn’t want to tempt fate with comments that could bite him down the line.

After Sunday’s draw with Norwich City, Farke was upset about a couple of decisions that didn’t go his way. Borja Sainz’s first-half challenge on Wilfried Gnonto, which resulted in no penalty or free-kick, and Junior Firpo’s disallowed goal were red flags for Farke in his post-match press conference.

Not only were those decisions the talk of video assistant referees in the Championship, but also a litany of refereeing errors throughout the season. Farke did not call for VAR in the regular season because of this potential Wembley glitz, but went so far as to say that Leeds would have already been promoted if VAR had officiated their 46 league games in 2023/24.

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“I’m telling you, if I ask for VAR now and we’re so lucky to go to Wembley, I already know if I ask for that, VAR is not in our favor for Wembley,” he said. “So for that, I’m not asking for it, certainly not because I believe in karma and it’s always the same.

“If we had used VAR to make sure we got the right decisions this season, we wouldn’t have been in the play-offs. We’d already be automatically promoted, that’s for sure a fact.

“So for that, you can imagine what I think about VAR at the moment. All in all, in general, if you don’t have VAR, we have to make sure that the referee’s decisions on the pitch have to be up to par.

“That’s the only thing I can say about it.”