James Maddison hits out at ‘petrified’ officials after Tottenham’s late Leeds penalty row | OneFootball

James Maddison has criticised what he called petrified refereeing after Tottenham’s late penalty appeal at Leeds United was rejected on Monday.

The midfielder fell under fellow substitute Lukas Nmecha’s challenge in second-half added time with the score at 1-1. Referee Jarred Gillett gave a corner and VAR stayed with the on-field call.

The Premier League Match Centre wrote on X that Nmecha made contact with the ball. Maddison countered on Instagram, saying a tiny touch came from the outside of his right foot, that he told the referee as much, and that the check lasted about 20 seconds. “Officials are petrified to make decisions on the pitch now because of VAR,” he posted.

The match ended level after 15 minutes of stoppage time, Leeds taking a point despite already being mathematically safe.

“My first thought when I saw it was ‘blimey, they’ve got a penalty’,” former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher told talkSPORT. “When you see the replay, he does just catch the ball, there’s no doubt about that.”

Jamie O’Hara, the former Tottenham defender, told Sky Sports: “That is a penalty and he bottled it, the ref. Last night, they looked at it for 30 seconds and said ‘no carry on’.”

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk