Leeds United captain Ethan Ampadu breaks silence on Chelsea goalkeeper time-out — Leeds Live 27/4/26

Ampadu decided to enact his own act of gamesmanship in response to Chelsea's decision

Isaac Johnson Leeds United reporter

Ethan Ampadu says he was simply repaying gamesmanship tactics when he went over to the Chelsea dug-out amid the controversial goalkeeper time-out Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final defeat.

Robert Sanchez hit the deck around the hour mark with Leeds United building pressure to allow interim Chelsea head coach Calum McFarlane to benefit from a quick sideline team-talk to help the Blues reset.

Such instances have been seen in Leeds games against Manchester City and Sunderland this season and this time, with Leeds supporters enraged, Ampadu decided to go over with the Chelsea players to listen in on the huddle.

Speaking to TNT Sports, Ampadu explained his thoughts: “There’s been a bit of a thing with it this season. Everyone knows the referee can’t do anything about it. It’s obviously clever.

“We’ve had it a couple of times when we’ve had momentum and the keeper has gone down. So I thought this time, go over and just stand next [to hear] what they’re saying.

“If they are going to do something to create a little bit more tactics then I’m going to go over and get a drink.”

Chelsea boss McFarlane was asked about the incident in his press conference and responded: "I'm unsure about the ruckus. I used it as the opportunity to speak to the players and pass on information."

Ultimately, though, Leeds were second-best throughout the game and failed to muster a clear-cut opportunity with regularity. Daniel Farke - who refrained from commenting on the goalkeeper time-out - said he believed the occasion got to his players in the first half.

Ampadu admitted the first 45 minutes were below par. He added: “Obviously we are disappointed but we weren’t good enough in the first half.

“When you play against a good team, they have - maybe not too many great chances - but they're capable of putting the ball in the back of the net. Obviously it’s difficult from there and we pushed.

“We showed more resilience in the second half but we can’t start a game as nervous we did. It might not have been nerves but not to our standards.

“You don’t want to put it down to that because before the game we said we were prepared. No excuses, sometimes you're not just at it. And we weren't in the first half.”