Tottenham 'have confidence' in VAR despite Bogle decision, says De Zerbi

  • Tottenham saw their three-match winning streak end after defeat to Leeds United, who were lucky not to have Jayden Bogle sent off.

Roberto De Zerbi insisted Tottenham have "confidence" in VAR, despite the decision not to send off Jayden Bogle during their defeat to Leeds United.

Spurs saw their recent resurgence brought to an end at Elland Road, where they were beaten 1-0 following a run of three straight wins.

However, Leeds were fortunate not to be reduced to 10 men in the first half, when Bogle caught the back of Mathys Tel's Achilles.

The Spurs winger was forced off, but following a four-minute VAR review, Tony Harrington did not advise referee John Brooks to refer to his pitchside monitor for a second look at the incident.

De Zerbi was later incensed when Pedro Porro was booked for a less malicious challenge on Lukas Nmecha during the second half.

The Spurs boss was subsequently shown his third yellow card of the season, meaning he must now serve a touchline ban during their next game against Ipswich Town.

Nevertheless, De Zerbi was philosophical when reviewing the performance of VAR during his post-match interviews.

"No [the referee should not have been sent to his pitchside monitor for the Tel challenge], I have big confidence in the referee," he said. "Nothing changes if he goes to watch the clip or not.

"There was the VAR, and if they didn't take the right decision, I don't know, but we have confidence. We have to keep our eyes on the performance where we can improve.

"Pedro Porro was a normal tackle, a normal duel and was an incredible yellow card. The first situation of Mathys Tel, I didn't see, I can't say nothing."

It was only Tottenham's second defeat in 14 Premier League meetings with Leeds, while they also failed to record a fourth straight victory in the competition at Elland Road.

Spurs recorded 67% of possession during the second half, but registered just four shots to their opponents' 13, and De Zerbi felt his side were made to pay for that lack of a cutting edge.

"First half, I thought we played well, better than Leeds. We created two or three chances to score," he added.

"In the second half, we played badly, and Leeds played much, much better. They deserved to win. We didn't show what we showed in the Chelsea game, and the other games [that we won]."