Tottenham Hotspur will submit a formal complaint to referees’ body Pro Ref after Leeds United defender Jayden Bogle escaped a red card for the challenge that forced Mathys Tel off injured in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Elland Road.
Spurs believe Bogle should have been sent off in the first half, and they want an explanation for why neither referee John Brooks nor VAR Tony Harrington deemed the tackle worthy of a dismissal. The complaint, first reported by the BBC’s Sami Mokbel and confirmed by Sky Sports News, turns a matchday controversy into an official dispute — and it comes with a precedent Tottenham intend to use.
The challenge that started it all
The incident came just after the half-hour mark, with the game still goalless. Tel stepped across Bogle near the touchline, and the Leeds right-back’s raised left boot came down on the back of the French forward’s ankle, scraping his Achilles. Tel went down in pain, needed treatment on the turf, and could not continue — he was replaced by Dominic Solanke in the 43rd minute.
Brooks awarded a free-kick but showed no card. Harrington then spent around four to five minutes reviewing the challenge for possible serious foul play before deciding it was reckless rather than dangerous, and he never sent Brooks to the pitchside monitor. The Premier League’s Match Centre later published the audio of the exchange, with Harrington heard saying: “I’m confirming the on-field decision of no red card. There’s a lack of speed going into the challenge and he’s stepping into the tackle. Confirming a reckless challenge.”
That explanation has not satisfied Tottenham, and the reaction from former officials has only hardened their case. Former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann told BBC Sport that Bogle escaped a red card despite a challenge that “meets the criteria for serious foul play as he endangers the safety of an opponent” and that the defender “can consider himself lucky to still be on the pitch”. Former referee Mike Dean went further on Sky Sports, calling the tackle “100 per cent a red”.
Why Spurs believe they have a case
Tottenham’s complaint is expected to focus on consistency as much as on the tackle itself. A week earlier, Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta was sent off for a foul on Spurs defender Micky van de Ven in Tottenham’s 2-0 win — a dismissal the Football Association upheld when Palace appealed, leaving Mateta serving a three-match suspension. Spurs will argue that if Mateta’s challenge crossed the line into serious foul play, Bogle’s should have done too.
The Key Match Incidents Panel, the independent body that reviews the weekend’s contentious decisions, will examine the Bogle tackle in the coming days. Sports Mole reports Tottenham will seek an explanation from Pro Ref over both the on-field call and the VAR review. The panel’s verdict will not change the result at Elland Road, but it will shape whether Tottenham’s complaint is treated as a justified grievance or a sore loser clutching at straws.
Manager Roberto De Zerbi, for his part, refused to blame the defeat on the officials in his post-match interview, telling BBC Match of the Day: “We have full confidence in the referee and VAR. I cannot say nothing more.” On the decision itself, he added only: “The potential red card, I couldn’t say.” His restraint is notable — and it may be tactical, with the club now choosing the formal channel over the press conference to make its point.
So what happens now?
The immediate concern for Tottenham is Tel. De Zerbi admitted after the game that the injury looked serious, saying: “Bad injury and now we have to make the medical check, and the next day we will know what is the problem.” Tel, who has scored one goal in 10 appearances this season, had just been called up to France’s Under-21 squad for November’s fixtures against Italy and England — a call-up now in doubt until the scans come back.
De Zerbi has a problem of his own, too. He was booked for his reaction to Pedro Porro’s second-half caution, his third yellow card of the season, which means he will serve a one-game touchline ban. Tottenham’s next match after the international break is at home to Ipswich Town on November 21, and De Zerbi will watch it from the stands.
The wider picture is just as uncomfortable. This was Tottenham’s fourth Premier League defeat of the season, and they could slip into the bottom 10 on Sunday if either Ipswich Town or Aston Villa take a point. A season that began with genuine optimism is drifting, and the complaint to Pro Ref — however justified — will not disguise that the football, not just the officiating, needs to improve. Leeds beat Spurs 1-0 through Noah Okafor’s late winner, and that result is the one Spurs must answer on the pitch.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Tottenham are right to ask the question, because the gap between Mateta’s red and Bogle’s escape is exactly the kind of inconsistency that erodes trust in VAR. But a complaint is not a plan. Spurs lost this game because Noah Okafor’s late winner punished a side that created too little — and until De Zerbi fixes that, every refereeing debate will sound like an excuse. Do you think Bogle should have seen red?
