Roberto De Zerbi says match officials were ‘unsettled’ during Tottenham’s draw with Leeds as late penalty claim overturned | Football news

Roberto De Zerbi said referee Jarred Gillett was “not quiet” during Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United and believes the match officials are feeling the pressure after the VAR row at West Ham.

Spurs squandered a four-point lead over 18th-placed West Ham after Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s penalty canceled out Mathys Tel’s stunning goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Leeds were awarded a penalty after VAR advised Gillett to look at the keeper to review Tel’s high boot as he attempted to clear the ball with a high kick, which caught Ethan Ampadu in the head.

After a lengthy examination on the pitch, Gillett overturned his initial decision and awarded Leeds a penalty.

Spurs then made their own appeal in the 103rd minute when James Maddison went down in the area after being touched by Lukas Nmecha, but the VAR checked and cleared the incident, in line with Gillett’s on-field decision not to be penalized.

The row over the referee comes 24 hours after West Ham were denied a late equalizer against Arsenal after David Raya was fouled by striker Pablo in the area.

When De Zerbi was asked about the decisions made by the match officials during the match, he said: “I think they were not cool today, maybe they faced the pressure of yesterday’s game against Arsenal.

“We are definitely under pressure today. We did not flirt with football, we are busy but the referee was not quiet today.

“I don’t understand the issue about yesterday’s VAR because it was 200 percent, not 100 percent, 200 percent.”

Carra: De Zerbi will be angry with Tel – but he has to keep him around

Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher feels that De Zerbi will have to quell any anger in his young player due to the attacking prowess the new manager has shown – which could be crucial in their battle for survival.

Tel was at the heart of Spurs’ impressive first-half performance against Leeds, before scoring a stunning opener after the break, before his penalty nightmare.

Regarding the penalty, Carragher said: “It’s just a stupid decision from Tel. You think we’ve been there sometimes as players where you don’t see a player from the opposition going in.

“But he is about to make a decision and you can see him, he looks good. So he has made a decision but since he knows there is someone there, it has to change.

“He still has time, he has to change his mind. I thought he didn’t see it at first, but he still has. It’s a really bad decision.

“We are talking about a young attacking player, who makes two crazy decisions in this game.

“De Zerbi will be upset – but he has to remember that he is a young attacking player who has made a big difference to Spurs right now.

“He came off the bench at Wolves, got the corner and the winner. He scored the second goal at Villa, scored tonight.

“You need him because they haven’t found any injured players but there is a player, we have seen that in the last few games.

“It’s going to be fun, but the good side is – everything we showed was good for Spurs in the first half, then he scored in the second half.

“That is the art of management, and De Zerbi knows that better than I do.”