The Mathys Tel moment of madness that could cost Tottenham in Premier League relegation battle
Tottenham 1-1 Leeds: Having provided a sublime opener, Tel’s foolish attempt at an overhead kick in his own box cost Spurs two points
Yet another game dictated by VAR now, rather fittingly, looks set to bring the 2025-26 relegation battle down to the tightest of margins. That, however, is only going to cause emotions to waver as wildly – and as cruelly – as we saw in this 1-1 draw between Tottenham and Leeds . A big week for officials somehow had another crescendo.
Some might say a nadir, given it makes for an even bigger season for officials. Two successive VAR calls saw Roberto De Zerbi and most of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium quickly go from exhilaration to exasperation. James Maddison , finally returning as a sub after Dominic Calvert-Lewin had equalised from a VAR-granted penalty, was denied what would have almost been a deus ex machina of an intervention.
He ghosted into the box to be felled by Lukas Nmecha… only for Jared Gillett to quickly rule that it wasn’t a foul. VAR again had a pivotal role to play at the climax of the Premier League season (Reuters) And, from all that, what must Nuno Espirito Santo be thinking? Just 28 hours before this, the West Ham United manager was philosophically lamenting the “duality” of Premier League directives on grappling.
He now might be left musing – a little more hopefully - on the duality of VAR. It takes away. It gives.
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