Patrick Bamford says Leeds United fans turned up outside his house after he missed a penalty against Newcastle United in May 2023.
Bamford, 30, added that he had to deactivate his Twitter account a few months before the incident because “the abuse got so bad — threatening my family and even my little girl”.
The game against Newcastle was on May 13, with Bamford missing a 28th-minute penalty which would have seen Leeds take a 2-0 lead at Elland Road. Newcastle then went 2-1 up thanks to two successful penalties from Callum Wilson, before Rasmus Kristensen equalised late on.
Leeds were then relegated from the Premier League after defeats against West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, having spent three seasons back in the top flight.
Bamford, speaking on the BBC’s My Mate’s A Footballer podcast, recalls that his partner phoned him after the Newcastle game and told him there were people outside his house who had not moved for “20 minutes”.
“As I turn into the drive to get in, I can’t even get to the gate, there’s two cars blocking it,” Bamford said.
“They had their windows open. I went to put my window down and as I did, they put their windows open and just stared at me. Then the gate opened because my dad had opened it and they drove off.
“I think it was a culmination of the last few weeks. I took a lot of flak for it, rightly or wrongly. The way they expressed it was crazy.”
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Bamford added that his partner did not feel safe in their home following the incident and he had to call on his personal sports psychologist for support.
“I rang him (Bamford’s sports psychologist) literally straight after that happened,” Bamford continued. “He was like, ‘How do you feel?’
“I said, ‘I’m not upset about the abuse, I’m angry that someone’s come to the house and done that’. The club were good, they ended up putting security on the house for the whole night.
“I was like, ‘How do I explain to Michaela — don’t worry, everything’s safe’, even though we’re sitting there with security and a security dog outside the house all night.”
The day after the Newcastle game, Leeds released a statement condemning online abuse and threats Bamford had received following his missed penalty.
Bamford remains at Leeds and has scored four goals in 23 appearances this season for the Championship club.
(George Wood/Getty Images)
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
