Gudmundsson was initally handed a yellow card for the tackle on the day

The Premier League Key Match Incident Panel has confirmed that referee Darren England was right not to send off Gabriel Gudmundsson against Manchester United, and have explained why.

Gudmundsson received a yellow card for his tackle on Andrey Santos in the first half of Leeds United's 1-1 draw, after catching the back of the midfielder’s leg. VAR checked and cleared the incident of a red card, though some pundits questioned this in the aftermath.

They drew comparisons with Ryan Sessegnon's dismissal in Fulham’s win over Hull City a day earlier, where the defender was given his marching orders for catching the Achilles of Robinio Vaz.

However, the KMI panel - which reviews contentious decisions and votes on whether the correct decision was awarded - has explained how both red card calls were correct, and why they were different.

On Sessegnon’s red card, the panel - which unanimously voted 5-0 in favour of the decision - explained: “Sessegnon made high, full and forceful contact on Vaz’s Achilles, endangering his safety.”

Make sure you never miss the latest Leeds United news and opinion by making Leeds Live one of your Google preferred sources.

And on Gudmundsson’s tackle, also a unanimous vote in favour, it added: “The on-field call of a yellow card was supported for a reckless challenge by Gudmundsson.

“Contact was made on Santos' ankle as he looked to change direction, but with low force and below the threshold for serious foul play.”

Giving his point of view on the tackle, Gudmundsson would later say: “I’m aware of when it [the tackle] happened in the Manchester United game; it didn't even feel like a yellow card.

"But then I saw it and I saw I wanted to step because I wanted to chase the movement and I wanted to set my foot down and I accidentally hit him. It was not on purpose, I really went in for the duel.

“So hopefully they maybe saw that. Last season, I got a red card that shouldn’t have been a red card. So maybe it evens out, I don’t know. But it is what it is. You need to be careful with the small details.”

Another incident in the match was also reviewed. In the 63rd minute, Harry Maguire felled Ethan Ampadu inside the box but the referee played on.

Again the panel voted 5-0 in favour of this being the right call, outlining: “The referee's call of no penalty was supported with the contact deemed to be below the threshold for a foul.”