Leeds defender Pascal Struijk's red card was upheld after appeal following his tackle on Harvey Elliott last weekend; Marcelo Bielsa believes an explanation from the FA over its reasoning would benefit players
Friday 17 September 2021 08:40, UK
Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa has asked the Football Association for guidance on why it upheld Pascal Struijk's red card for a challenge on Harvey Elliott in order to ensure players improve their decision-making.
Defender Struijk was sent off for a tackle on Elliott in the second half of Leeds' 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Elland Road, which left the midfielder with a dislocated left ankle.
Leeds lost their appeal against Struijk's three-game ban, although Elliott called the decision "wrong" in a reply to a Sky Sports Instagram post.
Elliott, 18, is expected to return to action this season after undergoing surgery on Tuesday.
"The majority of the plays that are similar to this one don't generate the consequences this one generated. That's why the injured player admits there was no bad intention," said Bielsa ahead of Leeds' visit to Newcastle on Friday, live on Sky Sports.
"I understand those that judge and decide have different arguments to the ones I've spoken about, and the ones the injured player has spoken about, and their arguments are the ones that decide the outcome.
"It's good that it's this way. What would be useful is to receive information which gave an explanation how to avoid these casual things from generating an injury."
Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani described the decision to uphold the ban as "inexplicable".
"It is human to commit a mistake during the game but when we do have VAR and time to evaluate and make a rational decision, that's very hard to accept," he added on Twitter.
Struijk will also miss games against West Ham in the Premier League and Fulham in the Carabao Cup, before being available again for the league game against Watford at Elland Road on October 2.
Bielsa added: "We should be guided by the thoughts of those who decide (the authorities), not by me. To hope to receive an explanation is perhaps excessive, but it would help to improve the decision-making of the players."
