Maddison Criticizes Refs, VAR After Denied Penalty in 1-1 Draw

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison criticized referees and VAR after officials denied his team a late penalty claim in Monday night's 1-1 Premier League draw with Leeds United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Mathys Tel gave Spurs the lead early in the second half with a long-range strike. Leeds equalized from the spot after Tel caught Ethan Ampadu with a high boot while clearing in the Tottenham box. Referee Jarred Gillett initially waved play on, but a VAR review overturned the call, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted the penalty to level the score. The match featured 13 minutes of stoppage time, during which Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky made a key save to preserve the draw.

Deep into added time, Maddison went down in the penalty area under a challenge from Leeds forward Lukas Nmecha. Gillett dismissed appeals for a spot kick and awarded a corner, and VAR official Craig Pawson upheld the decision after a quick review. The Premier League later confirmed in a statement on its Match Centre account: "The referee's call of no penalty to Tottenham Hotspur was checked and confirmed by VAR with it deemed that Nmecha played the ball."

Maddison, making his first appearance...