Leeds supporters were left perplexed at how a penalty was not given by VAR – as was Jermaine Beckford, who has since spoken to Leeds Live
Isaac Johnson Leeds United reporter
14:02, 04 Mar 2026
Luke O’Nien put two arms around the neck of Pascal Struijk during the set-piece(Image: TNT Sports)
Leeds United supporters have been questioning why VAR did not intervene when Pascal Struijk appeared to be grappled to the ground by his neck by Sunderland’s Luke O’Nien in Tuesday’s night’s fixture.
During the first-half, the Leeds defender was seen moving towards the ball in the area to meet a Leeds set-piece before being felled by the Black Cats captain. Daniel Farke said the officials made some “crazy” decisions during the 1-0 defeat, referencing the incident with Struijk as one of them.
Leeds Live understands that VAR had indeed checked the incident but cleared it, deeming it not to be a clear and obvious error. It has been reiterated that the threshold for VAR intervention is high amid the intention to empower the on-field referee’s own call.
Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search. Help us stay visible by adding us as a Preferred Source in your search settings.
Appearing on TNT Sports as a pundit for the game, former Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford branded it “absolute nonsense” that a “blatant” penalty was not given. In a subsequent chat with Leeds Live, he was clear on where the blame lies when it came to Struijk’s penalty appeal.
He said: “Luke O’Nien, I know him, he’s a very nice guy – physical, but that’s how he plays. But he’s got both his arms around Pascal Struijk’s neck, he drags him to the floor. I don’t understand what a penalty is if that’s not a penalty. I don’t get it.
“But at the same time, my blame is not to the referee or to the linesman. It’s not, because they can only see so much in one go. Whereas the guys in the VAR rooms, they’ve got replays.”
Beckford also gave his overall thoughts on VAR as a system. “To be brutally honest, I’ve never been a fan of VAR because I feel like it does take a lot of onus away from the referee and the officials,” he added.
“The whole point, the whole reason that the linesmen and the fourth official’s there is so that they can kind of oversee all of the decisions, all of their challenges, all of the fouls.
“It feels like with VAR being around it kind of gives them an opportunity and a chance to say, ‘oh I’m not quite sure, I’ll leave it to those guys’, rather than them saying ‘I saw that, that’s a penalty, a yellow card, a red card. Players are then not going to do it again as it acts as a deterrent.”
Jermaine Beckford speaking with Leeds Live via Gambling.com where users can find a trusted new online casino.