De Zerbi: Despite the Bogle decision, we have full trust in the referees and VAR

Roberto De Zerbi insisted that Tottenham have "full trust" in the VAR system and the referees, despite the decision not to show Jayden Bogle a red card in the defeat to Leeds United.

Spurs, who had been on the rise in recent weeks and had won three matches in a row, saw that run come to an end with a 1-0 defeat at Elland Road.

The hosts Leeds, however, were fortunate not to be reduced to 10 men after Bogle's heavy challenge on Mathys Tel's Achilles tendon in the first half. A VAR review lasting around four minutes was carried out over the incident involving the French winger, who was unable to continue and had to come off; however, VAR official Tony Harrington did not advise referee John Brooks to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.

In the second half, Pedro Porro was booked for a far more innocuous challenge on Lukas Nmecha, which infuriated De Zerbi. Shown his third yellow card of the season for his protests, the Italian head coach is now suspended and will not take his place in the dugout for the next match against Ipswich Town.

Despite all this, De Zerbi gave a measured assessment of the VAR performance after the match, saying:

"No, there was no need for the referee to go to the monitor to look at the Tel incident; I have full trust in the referees. Whether he goes and watches it or not, nothing changes. There is a VAR system there; whether they made the right decision or not, I don't know, but we trust them. We have to focus on our own performance, which we can improve. The Pedro Porro incident was a completely normal duel, but an incredible yellow card was given. As for Mathys Tel's incident in the first half, I didn't see it properly, so I can't say anything."

Tottenham suffered only their second defeat in their last 14 Premier League matches against Leeds United and also missed the chance of a fourth successive win at Elland Road. Despite reaching 67% possession in the second half, the London side managed only 4 shots to their opponents' 13, and De Zerbi said they had paid the price for their lack of attacking productivity.

"I think we played better than Leeds in the first half. We had two or three clear chances. But we were very poor in the second half and Leeds played far better than us. They deserved to win. This time we could not reproduce the football we showed against Chelsea or in the other matches we have won," the experienced head coach concluded.