Bournemouth 2-2 Leeds: Andoni Iraola slams "unacceptable" to award late Longstaff equaliser

Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola has questioned the decision to award Leeds United's late equaliser in Wednesday's dramatic 2-2 draw at the Vitality Stadium.

The Cherries took the lead on two separate occasions in the Premier League meeting that was brought forward due to Leeds' involvement in the FA Cup semi-finals.

Eli Junior Kroupi broke the deadlock on the hour mark, only to see his 11th league goal of the season cancelled out by a James Hill own goal.

Bournemouth restored their lead through Rayan's 85th-minute effort, before Evanilson had a goal chalked off in the first minute of stoppage time.

Leeds ultimately made full use of that reprieve to salvage a point with Sean Longstaff's sweetly hit volley.

WOW!

Sean Longstaff equalises for Leeds in the 97th minute! ? pic.twitter.com/IV07TAH1hj
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 22, 2026

Iraola slams decision to award Leeds equaliser

The goal was reviewed for a potential offside against Joel Piroe, but the VAR team ruled that the Leeds striker had not impacted Djordje Petrovic's ability to save Longstaff's strike.

That was a decision that angered Iraola, who expressed his dissatisfaction in an interview with BBC Match of the Day after the game.

"We are very frustrated, very angry," Iraola said. "To concede in the 96th moment, I think it's a clear offside. Piroe affects the keeper, he's at the side where the ball goes in. It's not acceptable.

"I am waiting to talk to the referee. I hope he explains it to me, but we've lost two points in the last second of the game with a player offside affecting our keeper.

"He hasn't had the chance to go and dive or to see the position, the trajectory of the ball. It has affected Petrovic and in the same way it's offside for Evanilson, he's one millimetre, but we have to accept it. This is the same. It affects Petrovic.

"It takes two points that are decisive in this moment in the season."

What are Bournemouth's final four Premier League fixtures?

Bournemouth have now gone 14 consecutive Premier League games without defeat, but they will be frustrated by the fact that they missed the chance to move into sixth position.

The Cherries climbed above Chelsea into seventh place, although they will be wary that a number of their rivals for European qualification have at least one game in hand.

Their next outing will be against Crystal Palace, who are six points adrift in 13th place but have played two games less than the Cherries.

After taking on the Eagles at the Vitality Stadium on May 3, Bournemouth will head on their travels for a meeting with Fulham and back home for a clash against title hopefuls Man City.

The season, and Iraola's tenure, will end with a trip to the City Ground for a game against Nottingham Forest on May 24.