Roberto De Zerbi said referee Jarred Gillett was “not calm” during Tottenham’s 1-1 draw against Leeds United and match officials are feeling the pressure after VAR controversy at West Ham.
Spurs squandered the chance to go four points clear of 18th-placed West Ham after Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s penalty cancelled out Mathys Tel’s stunning opener at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Leeds were awarded the penalty after VAR advised Gillett to look at the monitor to review Tel’s high boot while attempting to clear the ball with an overhead kick, which caught Ethan Ampadu in the head.
Following a lengthy on-field check, Gillett overturned his initial decision and awarded a penalty to Leeds.
Spurs then had a penalty appeal of their own in the 103rd minute when James Maddison went down inside the area after feeling contact from Lukas Nmecha, but VAR checked and cleared the incident, sticking with Gillett’s on-field decision of no penalty.
The controversy surrounding match officiating comes just over 24 hours after West Ham had their late equaliser disallowed against Arsenal for a foul on David Raya by striker Pablo inside the area.
When asked about the decision-making from match officials during the game, De Zerbi said: “I think they were not calm today, maybe they suffered the pressure of yesterday’s Arsenal game.
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Dominic Calvert-Lewin converts VAR awarded penalty to draw Leeds level against Spurs in the Premier League
“For sure we suffered the pressure today. We didn’t play with passion with the ball, too frenetic but also the referee was not calm today.
“I can’t understand the polemic about yesterday’s VAR because it was 200 per cent a foul, not 100 per cent, 200 per cent.”
