Sorry doesn’t have to be the hardest word at Christmas and Leeds United have received a formal apology for the error which marred their Preston North End draw nine days ago. The Whites battled back to 1-1 in the dying moments at Deepdale, but should have been playing against 10 men for more than half the game.

Ben Whiteman had already been booked when he slid into Jayden Bogle on the edge of the home box. The Preston skipper touched some of the ball, but the tackle was out of control, stretching and studs up on Bogle’s shin.

The reaction of the Leeds players said it all, but referee John Busby stepped away from the crowd and ultimately decided it was a free-kick, but no booking. Daniel Farke and Paul Heckingbottom would later agree Whiteman was lucky to get away without any card, with a red likely from some referees.

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Now, nine days on, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body responsible for football referees in England, and Busby have written to Elland Road. They have accepted an error was made in failing to discipline Whiteman and apologised to the club.

Last week, Farke was asked if an apology had been received and, at that stage, they were still waiting. Although, the manager has long since moved on.

“I had a short chat with John after the game, but I rate him as a referee and every referee wants to be there with his best decision,” he said. “He misjudges the situation and we have to accept this.

“The club, sometimes, asks the question and normally, pretty quickly, we receive a letter and a response to explain the situation or to say ‘Yes, you're right, it should have been a yellow, red card.’ We haven't received a letter yet, but it's not that important because it won't change the decision.

“It won't change the result and we have to get on with it. We have a really good relationship. We would have preferred to be allowed to play against 10 men because it would have definitely increased our chance to win this game.”