Sunderland beat Leeds United 1-0 at Elland Road on Tuesday 3 November 2026, with Habib Diarra's controversial 70th-minute penalty deciding a Premier League match low on quality but high on argument. This was a different fixture from the goalless draw between the sides at the Stadium of Light in October, and it left Leeds looking anxiously over their shoulders.

The decisive moment came when referee Stuart Attwell was advised by the video assistant referee to go to the pitchside monitor after Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu appeared to move his arm towards the ball inside the box, having initially blocked an attempt by Wilson Isidor. Attwell adjudged Ampadu to have deliberately handled and pointed to the spot.

Diarra, who had been the subject of a transfer bid by Leeds last summer, was relieved when his poorly struck penalty hit goalkeeper Karl Darlow on the hip, but the ball squirmed back over the keeper and into the net. It was Sunderland's only shot on target in the entire match.

Leeds fury over denied spot-kick

Leeds' fury with the decision was compounded after VAR had earlier opted not to intervene when defender Pascal Struijk was wrestled to the floor by Sunderland's Luke O'Nien at a corner in the opening stages. Sky Sports News understands the incident was looked at by VAR, but it was deemed that a clear and obvious error had not taken place.

Former Tottenham captain Michael Dawson, working as a pundit on Soccer Special, called the penalty against Ampadu "very harsh", adding: "I don't know what he is supposed to do with his arm." On the Struijk incident, Dawson said: "I think Leeds should have had a penalty. Struijk had arms around his neck - I can't believe VAR didn't get involved."

Former Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford was left baffled too. Speaking on TNT Sports, he said: "I'm so bemused as to how the referee and VAR officials have not given a penalty. It's clear as day. Arms around the neck, he drags him down to the ground. How's that not a penalty? It's absolutely embarrassing."

A disallowed goal and late misses

VAR also denied Leeds a second-half opener as Joe Rodon's 64th-minute header from Anton Stach's free-kick was disallowed for offside. Leeds had been the better side until then, but struggled to find quality in the final third, and their best moment came in the first half when Stach's free-kick was pushed behind by Melker Ellborg, making his debut in goal in the absence of the injured Robin Roefs. The Swedish keeper also saved well from Jaka Bijol's close-range header in 12 minutes of added time, and Bijol missed two late chances.

Sunderland's victory took them to 40 points and 11th place, ending a nine-game winless away league run, while Leeds stayed 15th and just six points above the drop zone, with most of their fellow relegation rivals holding a game in hand. A win for Leeds would have provided a huge boost to their survival hopes, with third-bottom West Ham able to cut the gap to three points with a win at Fulham the following day.

[Source: All Football](https://m.allfootballapp.com/amp/news/EPL/Leeds-0-1-Sunderland-Controversial-penalty-calls-see-Black-Cats-win-through-Habib-Diarras-spot-kick/4362075) | [Source: BBC Sport](https://bbcinsight.pages.dev/sport/football/live/cr5lemzz9ylt)