As if things aren’t bad enough on the field for Leeds, the club is now also engulfed in an off-field controversy following a dismal 4-1 defeat to Bournemouth on Sunday.
Video of Leeds players seemingly ignoring fans on their way to the team bus before the Bournemouth match went viral, providing even more fuel for criticism against an already beleaguered group of players.
The outcry was loud enough that the club felt compelled to release a statement of apology on Monday.
As the first team squad at Leeds United, we wanted to reach out to the fan base regarding yesterday’s game and subsequent posts on social media.
Firstly, the performance was not good enough. There is no other way to look at it and the only way to respond is on the pitch. Leeds fans travel up and down the country in huge numbers and deserve more than this.
What is just as concerning to us as a group, is the video online of us leaving the hotel. Words can’t express how sorry we are that the youngster in the video wearing the Leeds kit is not shown more love from the squad. On a matchday we do an activation walk, before and after this we stop for photos and autographs to ensure we interact with fans, but also that we are on time when leaving for games. However, there is no excuse for not acknowledging fans and if the parents of the fan wearing the Leeds kit in the video could make themselves known to us, we would be grateful.
But the father of one of the kids who was seemingly snubbed by players had a completely different version of events.
John Wale, the father of eight-year-old Dylan Wale, told the Yorkshire Evening Post that his son — portrayed as one of the biggest victims of the incident — actually had a great experience.
He had a fantastic day. Luke Ayling fist bumped him, Javi Gracia came and tickled his chin and had a chat with him, Jack Harrison had a laugh with him, Adam Forshaw came down the stairs with his hand out to high five him and Brenden Aaronson signed an autograph. Max Wöber turned and said hi, Willy Gnonto said hi. He was buzzing. He’s got three autographs, we had a great day and there you have it. Then this morning, Caleb his elder brother spotted this post from SportBible and I was gobsmacked. The video just shows the players who didn’t say hi. We know full well they’re under pressure, they’re trying to stay in the Premier League and we’re devastated because we don’t want to be involved in negative press.
One particular player criticized for the video was a certain on-loan American who’s recently taken plenty of heat for his on-field displays. But the boy’s father said neither he, nor his teammates, have anything to apologize for.
They don’t need to make an apology as far as I’m concerned. I don’t want the players slated. Weston McKennie for instance. He’s been torn apart by the press and he’s probably fed up with everything going on. Just because they play football or they’re millionaires or whatever doesn’t mean they don’t have things on their mind. They’re performers on the football field.
Leeds has enough to worry about on the field right now, but this statement may prove to be something of a Streisand effect moment for a club that really doesn’t need any more headaches.
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