Andy Hinchcliffe was critical of Wilfried Zaha’s ‘silly’ actions towards Raphinha during Leeds United’s goalless draw at Crystal Palace on Monday Night.
The Sky pundit was making reference to Zaha raising an arm in the face of the Leeds winger in the first half.
Right in front of the dugout, Zaha managed to wheel away from Raphinha, but for some reason raised an arm in the face of the player.
Whilst the Brazil international made a meal of it all by going to ground, the on-field referee did call back play and award the away team a foul.
That decision didn’t sit well with Zaha, nor the home supporters, as Hinchcliffe think there was no need for the Palace player to do what he did, as he told Sky Sports Premier League.
“Zaha turns away from Raphinha,” said Hinchcliffe. “Zaha is saying ‘he is just protecting himself’.
“But there is more to it than that. His arm is raised. There’s a push in the face of Raphinha.
“It’s silly from Zaha because he was nowhere near the ball. He was moving away with it Zaha. He turns the Leeds man, then his left arm comes out and he shoves him in the face.
“You just don’t need to do that. It’s so risky when you raise an arm into an opponent. There is also a push there as well. It’s silly from Zaha.”
It’s a point that is valuable to both teams heading into the final few weeks of the season.
For Patrick Vieira, they have stopped their losing run, whilst Leeds are that bit further away from the Premier League’s relegation zone.
Luckily for Jesse Marsch, even if they taste defeat at home to Manchester City at the weekend, they still won’t be in the bottom three.
So, from that perspective, they can breathe easy, although, they wouldn’t want this relegation fight to go to the final day.
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