‘Maybe they suffered the pressure of West Ham v Arsenal’ – De Zerbi says referee was ‘not calm’ in Spurs’ draw with Leeds

TL;DR

Roberto De Zerbi criticized referee Jarred Gillett for being 'not calm' during Spurs' 1-1 draw with Leeds, suggesting he was affected by the pressure from the West Ham vs Arsenal match. The draw leaves Spurs just two points above the relegation zone with two games left.

Key points

De Zerbi criticized referee Jarred Gillett's calmness
Spurs drew 1-1 with Leeds
Spurs are two points above the relegation zone
West Ham's late equalizer was disallowed
The VAR call was significant in the Premier League

Mentioned in this story

Roberto De ZerbiJarred Gillett

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‘Maybe they suffered the pressure of West Ham v Arsenal’ – De Zerbi says referee was ‘not calm’ in Spurs’ draw with Leeds

Roberto De Zerbi suggested referee Jarred Gillett may have been influenced by the “pressure” of the late drama in Arsenal’s win over West Ham.

West Ham saw a late equaliser chalked off after a VAR check in what has been dubbed the biggest VAR call in the history of the Premier League, given what was at stake at both ends of the table.

And De Zerbi questioned the referee’s approach during his Spurs side’s 1-1 draw against Leeds, which sees them sit two points above the relegation zone with two games remaining.

“The first minute until the end of the game, the referee went to me to say if you go out (of the technical area), yellow card,” De Zerbi said.

“I think they were not calm today. Maybe they suffer the pressure of yesterday, the West Ham v Arsenal game, the VAR.

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“For sure we suffered the pressure today because the speed of the ball, the order on the pitch, we didn’t play with patience with the ball, frenetic.

“But also the referee was not calm today. I can’t understand yesterday about the VAR because it was a foul 200% not 100%, if you want to speak about football.”

Q&A

What did De Zerbi say about the referee's performance in the Spurs vs Leeds match?

De Zerbi claimed that referee Jarred Gillett was 'not calm' and may have been influenced by the pressure from the West Ham vs Arsenal match.

How does the draw with Leeds affect Tottenham's position in the Premier League?

The draw leaves Tottenham just two points above the relegation zone with only two games remaining in the season.

What was significant about the West Ham vs Arsenal match related to VAR?

The match featured a late equalizer for West Ham that was disallowed after a VAR check, which has been described as one of the biggest VAR calls in Premier League history.