Leeds attempt to explain response from crowd during Man City defeat

Leeds have condemned the "unexpected and disappointing" booing from fans during a scheduled pause for players to break their Ramadan fast in last weekend's defeat to Man City - but set out a number of "mitigating circumstances" in their defence.

In the 13th minute of City's 1-0 victory, when the sun had set at around 5.42pm, there was a 78-second break in play to allow those taking part in daily fasting to take on food and drink on the touchline.

Despite messages on the screen allowing for a break in play to allow the players to break their fast, loud boos were clearly heard from the stands at Elland Road.

Another break will be held during Sunday's FA Cup tie with Norwich with Leeds' Joel Piroe expected to participate.

The club has attempted to head off a repeat by calling on fans to "respect" those players breaking their fast, but in a lengthy statement - which did not include an explicit apology - listed four "mitigating circumstances" surrounding the original incident.

"This was the first time a game at Elland Road has ever been paused to allow players observing Ramadan to break their fast," they wrote.

"In hindsight, we should have been more proactive with our communications in advance of the Manchester City fixture to explain to supporters that this was going to happen, there was a clear lack of awareness by some attending the fixture.

"Whilst we displayed a message on our big screen at Elland Road to explain why the game had been paused, this was not visible for approximately 25 per cent of the stadium, including the South Stand.

"In our preceding fixture with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in November 2025 the game was controversially stopped in the second half for a 'tactical timeout' during an injury break and with the squads congregating on the touchline supporters may have thought this was happening again (a similar incident to this also happened last Tuesday against Sunderland AFC leading to booing).

"At the time of the stoppage, given the intensity at the start of the match, a number of players were confused why the game had been paused, which can be seen clearly on broadcast footage and may have also led to confusion for supporters."