
Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has been awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award at the Best FIFA Awards in Milan.
The Argentine coach was given the award for his response to a controversial run of play in Leeds’ Championship match against Aston Villa in April this year.
In the build up to the incident, Leeds scored a goal to put them 1-0 ahead however, Villa players had stopped play due to one of their teammates going down injured.
The initial decision to play on - which resulted in a goal being scored – drew the ire of the visiting players, who felt aggrieved that they had conceded while they had an injured man on the pitch.
In response, Bielsa instructed his players to allow Aston Villa to score an uncontested goal to level the scores at 1-1.
The manager of the West Yorkshire outfit was recognised for his generosity and fairness, and was subsequently awarded the FIFA Fair Play award, which his side’s captain Liam Cooper and fitness coach Benoit Delaval collected on his behalf at La Scala opera house in Milan last night.