Former Premier League referee, Keith Hackett, has revealed whether he thinks Tottenham Hotspur should have got a late penalty against Leeds when James Maddison was brought down in the box.
Spurs fans went through a rollercoaster of emotions on Monday night. There was a celebratory mood at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when Mathys Tel put Tottenham 1-0 up in 50 minutes with a superb curler.
However, that turned into agony and extreme nervousness when Leeds levelled the scores from the penalty spot on 74 minutes after Tel caught Ethan Ampadu while attempting an overhead kick inside the Spurs box.
Tottenham fans also got some major scares as the away side came close to getting the winner, with Antonin Kinsky needing to pull off an outstanding save, but the Lilywhites felt a sense of injustice at the end of the game as a late decision went against them.
Keith Hackett claims Jarred Gillett was right to deny Tottenham a late penalty
Maddison, who came on as an 85th substitute to make his long-awaited comeback, was involved in a controversial moment towards the end of the game after he went down inside the box after being caught by Lukas Nmecha.
Replays showed that the Leeds star did make contact with the Tottenham midfielder, while some angles also suggested that he may have got a feather on the ball.
Hackett has opined that the replays convincingly show that Nmecha got a touch on the ball, and that VAR was right not to intervene after Gillett had turned down the penalty.
When asked about the decision, the ex-Premier League official told Football Insider: “Looking closely at replays, the defender has played the ball. The attacker not in possession has gone to ground too easily. Match officials got this one right.”
Why Spurs cannot have too many complaints about penalty decision
Tottenham fans have been frustrated with the number of decisions that have gone against their side this season, and there is no doubt that the North Londoners have got the rough end of the stick on several occasions.
The fact that they still have not been awarded a penalty in the Premier League this campaign is an astounding stat, and it is not lost on Spurs supporters that one decision could be the difference between staying up and going down.
However, on this occasion, it was not 100 per cent clear if Nmecha had got a touch on the ball. No angle could prove that he did not get any touch on it.
The officials understandably felt they did not have credible evidence to overturn the initial decision.
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