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Leeds United have condemned the threats and abuse directed at striker Patrick Bamford after he missed a penalty during the relegation threatened club’s 2-2 draw with Newcastle on Saturday.
Bamford, age 29, had the opportunity to give Leeds a two-goal advantage from the penalty spot following Luke Ayling’s opening goal in the seventh minute of the tie at Elland Road.
However, his effort was well-saved by Nick Pope of England and the chance went abegging.
Newcastle promptly counterattacked and equalized when Callum Wilson calmly placed his penalty kick in the bottom corner. Wilson’s second goal from the spot after the break turned the game on its head for Newcastle, but they were unable to cling on as Leeds equalized late through Rasmus Kristiansen.
As Leeds wasted the opportunity to move out of the relegation zone after Bamford’s penalty miss, he was subjected to online abuse, including death threats, from supporters.
Additionally, the club verified that Bamford’s family was also targeted by fans.
Leeds: Threats Targeted At Bamford ‘Completely Unacceptable’
A club statement from Leeds said: “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 behavior 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 must now win their final two games against West Ham and Tottenham in order to confirm their Premier League status for next season. They trail 17th-place Everton by one point following the Toffees’ 3-0 loss to league-leading Manchester City on Sunday.
Allardyce: ‘A Fair Scoreline Would Have Been A Victory for Us’
Speaking after the Whites’ draw against Newcastle, new boss Sam Allardyce said he believed that a fair result would have seen Leeds take all three points.
“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,” the manager said.
“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,” Allardyce explained.
“Playing third in the league and should have won it,” he continued, “Our fault we did not win but missing a penalty and giving two away.”
Allardyce also had his say on Bamford’s missed penalty.
“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,” he explained.
“That puts you under even more pressure to score. It can happen to anybody. Happened to us at the worst possible time.”
Relegation rivals Nottingham Forest earned a crucial point at Chelsea on Saturday, while Southampton were relegated after suffering a 2-0 loss to Fulham.
If Leicester earn at least a draw against Liverpool on Monday night, Leeds could fall to 19th in the table. Leeds may require at points in their next two games if they are to have any chance of staying up.
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