Leeds United manager Neil Warnock has refused to blame Billy Sharp for going down too easily after the striker won a penalty to help Nottingham Forest win their Championship clash 4-2 earlier today.
Leeds had a 1-0 lead before Sharp went down under Tom Lees's challenge for a contentious penalty to level things up. The on-loan striker went on to score another as Forest scored three goals in nine minutes to claim all three points.
However, Warnock believes that Sharp was just 'being clever' and that the referee was right to give a penalty against his side.
"I just hope Tom learns from the incident - it is a harsh lesson for him but one he's got to make sure doesn't happen again. I've known Billy a long time and if you are up against him in the area he's going to be clever," said Warnock.
"Tom has just breathed on him but Billy has made sure there is contact and gone down. In that situation you have got to stand a yard off him. It's a penalty because 20 out of 20 referees would give it. Billy used to get penalties for me like that at Sheffield United so I can't complain. Tom has just got to be more professional.
"It was really disappointing because at that stage it was the only way I could see Forest scoring. The equaliser gave Forest the lift they needed and we were guilty of being very amateurish and naive in the second half. If you concede three goals in seven minutes at any level you can't expect to win football matches, but at the end of the game I'm still disappointed that we have passed by another chance to win a game."
The result leaves Leeds ninth in the Championship table, while Forest leapfrog them into eighth.
Barney Corkhill
