Roberto De Zerbi implied that the officiating during Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United may have been subtly influenced by the contentious refereeing seen in the previous day’s West Ham United versus Arsenal fixture.
Speaking to the media after a tense night in north London, De Zerbi appeared visibly frustrated and picked up a yellow card from referee Jarred Gillett for encroaching beyond his technical area. The Leeds boss felt Gillett struggled to impose his authority on the game, and hinted in his post-match press conference that the fallout from West Ham’s clash with Arsenal — which Arsenal won 1-0 at the London Stadium — may have heaped extra pressure on the match officials.
In that earlier encounter, West Ham striker Callum Wilson had a late equaliser ruled out following a prolonged VAR check centred on a foul involving Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya. Arsenal’s narrow victory meant Spurs could have opened up a four-point gap above the drop zone with a win over Leeds.
De Zerbi conceded that his own players also struggled to stay composed amid the heightened stakes. “From the first minute to the last, the referee kept warning me about leaving my area,” he said, adding that he felt there was a general lack of calm throughout the evening. He suggested officials may have carried over anxiety from the West Ham-Arsenal controversy, and that this seemed to filter through to both teams, whose play became hurried and lacking in composure.
He described the atmosphere as frantic, noting that even the referee appeared unsettled, before stating his belief — without directly referencing the VAR debate — that a foul had clearly been committed.
When pressed on the stoppage-time incident in which James Maddison went down under a challenge from Lukas Nmecha — ultimately deemed legal by VAR after officials ruled the Leeds defender touched the ball — De Zerbi declined to wade in, stating he had not watched it back and had no wish to fuel further controversy.
