James Maddison hits out at referee after Tottenham penalty decision in Leeds draw

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Evening Standard

·12 May 2026

James Maddison hits out at referee after Tottenham penalty decision in Leeds draw

Spurs missed chance to move four points clear of relegation zone

James Maddison has hit out at referee Jarred Gillett after he was not awarded a penalty late on in Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Leeds.

Maddison went down under challenge from Lukas Nmecha in the penalty area deep into stoppage time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Spurs desperate for a winner that would have seen them propel themselves clear of the relegation zone.

Replays showed Nmecha getting a slight touch on the ball to dispossess the Spurs attacking midfielder, who was playing his first minutes of the campaign since his return from a year-long injury lay-off.

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Now, however, Maddison has come out on social media to explain his side of the story.

No penalty: James Maddison

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Posting to his Instagram story, the England international attached a screengrab of the incident, accompanied by some text.

“For clarity… the small tiny touch on the ball to change direction came from the outside of my right foot, not Nmecha,” Maddison wrote.

“I told the ref that but the check was over in about 20 seconds.

“Officials are petrified to make decisions on pitch now because of VAR. We keep fighting. COYS.”

Had Spurs been given the penalty and scored it, it would have handed Roberto De Zerbi’s side a massive boost in their battle against relegation.

They could have moved four points clear of West Ham, who occupy the final place in the bottom three, with all three points, but their singular share of the spoils means that they are just two points above their rivals with two games left to play.