The left-back was given a yellow card for the tackle - but some feel he should have been punished more severely

Gabriel Gudmundsson has hinted that VAR luck may have fallen his way in Sunday’s clash with Manchester United but insists his tackle to the Achilles of Andrey Santos was not intentional.

The Leeds United left-back was handed a yellow card in the 20th minute of the game, when his boot caught the back of Santos’ leg. The defender was handed a yellow card and VAR cleared the incident of anything more sinister.

However, pundits in the aftermath suggested the full-back should have been sent off, amid comparisons with a similar challenge from the red-carded Ryan Sessegnon of Fulham during their clash with Hull City a day earlier.

Gudmundsson said he felt the yellow card decision was harsh at the time but has since watched the footage back amid the debate. The Swede said his foul was not intentional but suggested luck may have this time fallen in his favour, after his red card at Crystal Palace last year.

During that trip, Gudmundsson was given a second yellow for a tame tackle that may not have been brandished had the referee realised the 27-year-old was already on a caution.

Giving his stance on his tackle on Santos last weekend, Gudmundsson told BBC Radio Leeds: “I’m aware of when it [the tackle] happened in the Manchester United game; it didn't even feel like a yellow card.

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“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.”

VAR is a hot-potato topic amongst fans and analysts anyway but Premier League stars have also shared their grievances with the technology since its introduction. Gudmundsson admits players have to be more careful in light of its presence.

He explained: “Now we have video, maybe we can’t do the small punishments [sic], so you need to be a bit more careful obviously with dragging the shirts and soon inside your own box and so on.

“But I always go into the game with the same mentality - always trying to be aggressive and win the ball, and make the defenders to play back.”