Football: Leeds settle the argument in style: Guy Hodgson in Barcelona on a great night for the English champions

SO JUSTICE was done and, via television, seen to be done by millions. Uefa, having failed to uphold its own laws by not disqualifying VfB Stuttgart from the European Cup for fielding an ineligible player, was let off the hook by Leeds United who inflicted their own brand of punishment. 'The law is an ass,' Mr Bumble said, and in this case the description should extend to the law-makers, too.

'It was a sporting solution on the pitch,' Dieter Hoeness, the Stuttgart general manger, said after the conclusion of Friday's first- round tie in Barcelona. And to huge relief at Uefa, the solution turned out to be a 2-1 victory in Leeds' favour.

Europe's governing body scarcely deserved the reprieve from football's general scorn. Having phrased the rules on the eligibility of foreign players in such an ambiguous way that Manchester United, for one, were confused enough to omit Ryan Giggs against Torpedo Moscow, Uefa compounded its error by not applying the logical punishment when Stuttgart transgressed those laws by fielding four foreigners at Elland Road.

To allow Stuttgart the expediency of a third match when disqualification would have been automatic for a similar crime in competitions such as the FA Cup was crass, and laid Uefa open to accusations that it had been influenced by the large sums paid for television rights by German broadcasters. How appropriate then that the machinations of the mighty should have been laid low by one of football's humble.

Carl Shutt is so much a fringe player at Elland Road that he managed only six full appearances in their championship year and has started a match only once this season. A 31-year-old former engineer who came into the professional ranks relatively late, his time at the club is probably limited and he owed his place on Friday evening to circumstance rather than planning.

Eric Cantona, Leeds' charismatic striker, had struggled all evening to guide his flicks and nudges to his colleagues. It was only later that his manager Howard Wilkinson explained the Frenchman had been debilitated by tonsilitis last Sunday.

'We needed to attack them down the sides,' Wilkinson said. 'We were too static, playing to feet. I wanted someone to run at them. Spin. Don't have it to feet. Eric had done well to last 75 minutes but he was struggling.'

Normally Wilkinson would have chosen Rod Wallace to disrupt the pattern, but the pounds 1.6m striker had not recovered from a hamstring injury, so it was to the cut- price Shutt that the manager turned. To dramatic effect.

Shutt's first touch was faulty, failing to trap Tony Dorigo's long pass, but his subsequent ones were devastating in their impact. Andreas Buck, a winger rich in talent but not so blessed that he can afford to dribble in the right-back position, was dispossessed by Shutt who then took off towards goal.

Shutt's strike record is not particularly impressive (17 in 65 league appearances for Leeds) and he had the added alibi of his very recent introduction, yet he took this opportunity with aplomb, drawing defender Gunther Schafer to him before swerving left and then hitting a low shot to the right of goalkeeper Eike Immel from 12 yards. He had been on the field for 60 seconds.

It was a wonderfully executed goal that would have launched a Leeds landslide if Lee Chapman had not inexplicably missed with a header from six yards immediately afterwards, and Gary Speed dithered over a shooting chance in the 86th minute. By the end the Germans were a throughly beaten team.

Wilkinson, justifiably, was concerned more by the result than the margin. 'We showed our inexperience in Stuttgart,' he said. 'We were better at our place, and, in a diferent way, we were even better tonight.' Asked about whether justice had been done, he added artfully: 'Justice is for Uefa. We just play.'

The manager was more forthcoming about Gordon Strachan, however, whom he pinpointed as an outstanding individual in a performance of universal competence. 'He was stronger at the end of the match than he was at the beginning. He never stopped running. He's getting better. I mean that. He had the (back) operation in the summer and I think he's becoming a better player.'

Certainly the 35-year-old Scot scored one of the great goals of his career. Chris Fairclough's cross bounced around the Stuttgart area but there seemed little danger when a defensive header fell to Strachan 35 yards out. At first he looked as though he was about to try a shot from a ridiculous distance but the drawing back of his right foot was just a feint that allowed him to advance a further 10 yards. The next time the trigger was cocked, however, Strachan let fly, his drive going in off the post despite the efforts of Immel, who just got his finger-tips to the ball.

At this point Leeds were resolutely in control. Gary McAllister, Strachan and David Batty were lording it in the midfield to an extent that Speed, another huge influence on the night, could afford to wander forward to support his strikers, and the Germans had not managed a shot to move John Lukic from his upright position.

But necessity dragged urgency out of the Germans and with it came superiority. Andie Golke equalised with a diving header from Alexander Strehmel's cross and for the middle third of the match there was considerable reason for the 1,000-plus Leeds supporters in the 115,000-capacity stadium to be concerned.

Leeds, too, contributed to their own problems by needlessly surrendering possession with over-ambitious one-twos and long passes. 'We were in control, I expected us to win,' Christoph Daum, the Stuttgart coach, said.

Fortunately for the English champions, Shutt guaranteed it would be an all-British second- round tie when Leeds meet Rangers in the first leg at Ibrox on Wednesday week. 'The players feel very pleased with themselves,' Wilkinson said. 'But five of them have to go off on international duty now so that will bring them back to earth.'

Wilkinson, typically, was already firmly attached to terra firma. 'All we've done is get into the next round,' he said. 'I know there was a lot of drama surrounding it because of what happened, but I'd have been more satisfied if we'd got through last Wednesday.

Given its spineless performance since, Uefa would probably have preferred it, too.

(Photograph omitted)