Roberto De Zerbi has criticized referee Jarred Gillett for lacking composure during Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United, suggesting match officials are buckling under pressure following recent VAR controversies.
Spurs missed the chance to extend their lead over 18th-placed West Ham to four points after Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s penalty canceled out Mathys Tel’s stunning opener at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The penalty was awarded after VAR advised Gillett to review Tel’s high boot during an attempted overhead clearance, which caught Leeds’ Ethan Ampadu in the head. Following an on-field check, Gillett overturned his initial decision.
Tottenham then had a penalty appeal of their own in the 103rd minute when James Maddison went down under contact from Lukas Nmecha. However, VAR upheld Gillett’s on-field decision of no penalty.
The controversy comes just over 24 hours after West Ham had a late equalizer disallowed against Arsenal for a foul on goalkeeper David Raya.
“I think they were not calm today,” De Zerbi said. “Maybe they suffered the pressure from yesterday’s Arsenal game. For sure we suffered the pressure today. We didn’t play with passion on the ball—too frenetic—and the referee was not calm either.”
“I can’t understand the polemic about yesterday’s VAR because it was 200 percent a foul, not 100 percent—200 percent.”
Tel was at the heart of much of Spurs’ best play in the first half before scoring a superb opener after the break, but he was later involved in the penalty decision that cost his side two points. Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher suggested De Zerbi would need to keep the young forward onside, given his attacking talent could prove crucial in Spurs’ survival battle.
