Credit: Imago

Josh Edwards

Tue 12 May 2026 9:40, UK

Leeds United were denied a penalty against Tottenham as a result of an ambiguous offside call.

Fears that the Whites would be on the beach were subdued on Monday night, as they battled their way to a point against Tottenham away from home.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin levelled the game from the spot after Ethan Ampadu was fouled in the box, though the fact that it took a VAR check for that to be awarded is a story in itself.

However, Leeds could easily have had a second penalty in the game, this time after Calvert-Lewin was fouled.

But with the Leeds striker judged to be offside in the build-up, the decision went Tottenham’s way.

Leeds have every right to feel robbed vs Tottenham

While Spurs fans are still arguing why James Maddison wasn’t awarded a penalty for Lukas Nmecha’s tackle, in which he won the ball, Leeds fans are wondering how they didn’t get another penalty of their own.

And replays show that they are well within their rights to feel that way.

Calvert-Lewin was called offside, with the official replay highlighting the fact that his toe was beyond the last defender, which is somewhat of a joke in itself.

However, the decision is made worse by the fact that other footage shows that Calvert-Lewin’s foot was actually in front of the last defender when the ball was played.

Many seem to think that the VAR replay was using the wrong frame of the incident, intentionally showcasing the Leeds star to be offside.

But whether that is the case or not, it was yet another example of why the current offside law simply isnt fit for purpose in the Premier League.

How can the offside law be changed?

Quite frankly, Arsene Wenger’s proposed law change would kill Premier League football entirely, so for this debate, that one can get in the bin.

However, offside was a law brought into the sport to prevent forwards from lingering on the goal line, while VAR was brought in to reverse clear and obvious errors.

There are very few cameras in the world, and almost certainly none within the VAR room that can accurately determine the exact millisecond the ball left someone’s foot, meaning the actual frame used to call offside is almost never entirely accurate.

And as seen in this instance, that one frame can be the difference between the forward being onside or not.

We need to stop overanalysing these marginal calls and revert to the old ways where the attacker received the benefit of the doubt.