It certainly didn't take James Maddison long to re-emerge as a protagonist in N17 after the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium rose to its feet to welcome back our devilish playmaker from a nine-month absence.
Maddison has spent much of Roberto De Zerbi's reign operating as a glorified cheerleader. While Tottenham's situation towards the foot of the table remains desperate, the club have been keen to ensure the Englishman isn't rushed back, especially with minor niggles bothering him as of late.
However, the time was deemed right for Maddison to make his entrance into a pitiful campaign on Monday night. Spurs were toiling after being pegged back by Dominic Calvert-Lewin's penalty, so De Zerbi turned to his No. 10 with just a few minutes of normal time remaining.
A hefty wad of stoppages meant Maddison's cameo was longer than De Zerbi expected, and the returning star was able to craft a couple of moments that reminded supporters of exactly what they've missed this term. There was the clever backheel that led Conor Gallagher into the Leeds United box, and the penalty incident Maddison is convinced should've been awarded.
Maddison convinced Spurs should've had stoppage time penalty vs. Leeds
Spurs still haven’t been awarded a penalty in the Premier League this season. | Shaun Brooks – CameraSport/GettyImages
We were relieved still to be level when Maddison faced up against Leeds forward Lukas Nmecha on the right-hand side of the visitors' box in the dying embers of stoppage time. The wily playmaker attempted to work his way to the byline before a challenge from Nmecha arrived. On-field, Jarred Gillett believed the German had got a touch of the ball and awarded a corner.
At the time, given the replays that were shown to the video assistant referee (VAR), I can understand why there was no reversal. It did look like Nmecha got a touch, with the incident not meeting the arbitrary "clean and obvious" threshold.
However, alternative angles, ones that weren't offered to the VAR, paint a different picture. On his Instagram story, Maddison posted a screenshot showing that the crucial touch shifting the direction of the ball actually came from the Tottenham man, not Nmecha.
"I told the ref that but the check was over in about 20 seconds," he wrote. "Officials are petrified to make decisions because of VAR."
That second line will probably earn him a fine, but at least the bloke has a little bit of a backbone to call out the unrelenting injustices we've been subject to from officials this season. I'm not crying conspiracy, but to not receive a single Premier League penalty is pretty remarkable.
We probably should've had one on Monday night, perhaps giving Maddison the chance to celebrate his comeback with a strike from 12 yards to all but keep Spurs in the division.
But alas, "we keep fighting".
This article was originally published on www.hotspurhq.com as James Maddison slams Premier League referees after latest Tottenham injustice.
