Marcelo Bielsa should give Tyler Roberts a “talking to” but would be wrong to drop him for Saturday’s meeting with Sheffield United.
That is the view of former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips.
The 22-year-old was one of three players sent home from international duty with Wales for breaching FAW protocol.
Roberts has featured heavily for Leeds in recent weeks, starting each of the last six league matches.
Ahead of the meeting with struggling Sheffield United, Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa was quoted in reference to Roberts by the BBC: “Any player that doesn’t adhere to the rules, having accepted them, commits an error. Errors always have consequences.
“Some of them are positive, to not repeat the same mistakes again, and others have worse consequences as they sanction you for your mistakes.”
But Phillips believes that, as the incident took place while on international duty, Leeds should not damage their chances by dropping Roberts against the Blades.
He told Football Insider: “Bielsa has the final decision. From my point of view, you’ve been away with your country, you’ve broken protocols, you’ve let the squad down. It’s serious.
“It’s a tough one. I would punish him for the next international break, not his day-to-day football in terms of Leeds United. If I was the boss, he’d be getting a talking to.
“But you’ve got to play him at the weekend because he’s an important part of your side. The league is so important so hopefully he is punished as part of the international set up and not the club.”
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