Leeds vs Arsenal suspended minutes after kick-off as fans left baffled

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Leeds vs Arsenal has been suspended after just two minutes due to technical issues at Elland Road. Fans at the stadium were left bemused as to the reason for the match being halted.

In just the second minute, referee Chris Kavanagh went over to the touchline with an apparent issue with his microphone. It has since emerged that there had been a power cut at the stadium, though supporters were left in the dark for a period of time.

Kavanagh had lost all contact with VAR and the goal line technology system, and TV feeds were also affected. Kavanagh spoke with both sides’ managers as the players attempted to keep themselves warm by passing the ball around on the pitch.

But after several minutes, the issue had still been resolved. Both sets of players made their way back to their respective dressing rooms.

Arsenal were aiming to extend their lead at the top of the table ahead of Manchester City’s trip to Liverpool later in the afternoon. Leeds, meanwhile, were looking to end a run of five winless matches in the Premier League.

The game kicked off on time at 2pm but lasted less than two minutes. Arsenal supporter Piers Morgan was clearly unhappy with the situation.

He tweeted: “FFS. The Leeds/Arsenal game is currently suspended because the referee has lost tech comms contact with an automated system that always gets it wrong anyway. We’ve reached peak VAR hell.”

BeIN SPORTS presenter Richard Keys questioned why the game could not resume without the use of the technology. He tweeted: “Are we so dependent on technology now that Leeds/Arsenal can’t be played? They’ve gone off because the ref has no contact with match centre. 40,000 are sat waiting for something to happen. This isn’t right. Just get on with it.”

Players from both teams came back out onto the pitch just after 2.30pm. However, the game was unable to restart immediately as the players needed to warm up again.

The match is set to resume at 2.40pm, therefore the delay was almost a full 40 minutes.

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