James Maddison says referees 'petrified' of making decisions after Spurs penalty snub

[p]The 29-year-old made his long-awaited return against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/leeds/tUxUbLR2/"]Leeds[/a] and thought he made an almost immediate impact in added time.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/maddison-james/YwP0q0m8/"]Maddison[/a] went down in the Leeds box following a challenge from Lukas Nmecha, but referee Jarred Gillett waved away his appeals.[/p][p]VAR took a good look, but after a check, they decided to stick with the on-field decision and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/leeds-tUxUbLR2/tottenham-UDg08Ohm/?mid=nclkvV1t"]the game ended 1-1[/a].[/p][embed guid="1be55f03-0ea9-4ac4-ab48-8e6b99d6be1d" url="https://x.com/AlasdairGold/status/2054293224647274564" social-type="twitter" /][p]Maddison has now taken to Instagram to offer some clarity regarding the decision, saying: [b]“For clarity... The small tiny touch on the ball to change direction came from the outside of my right foot not Nmecha and I told the ref that but the check was over in about 20 seconds.[/b][/p][p][b]“Officials are petrified to make decisions on pitch now because of VAR. We keep fighting. COYS.”[/b][/p]