Santo stunned after VAR failed to punish Maddison as he appeared to punch Yates

Nuno Espirito Santo was left stunned after VAR failed to punish James Maddison after he appeared to punch Ryan Yates during Tottenham's 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest.

In the final minute of the first-half, Yates fell to the ground after jostling with Maddison inside Tottenham's penalty box.

Yates made a signal suggesting VAR should take a look at the incident, with a replay showing Maddison appearing to punch the Forest player in the stomach.

Much to the dismay of the Nottingham Forest manager, VAR looked at the incident but Maddison escaped punishment.

After the match, Santo didn't hold his opinion back when a reporter said that it 'looked like Maddison punched Yates'.

'It doesn't look he punched him, he punched him,' said the Forest manager.

Forest's Portuguese manager added that Maddison 'lost his composure' and was surprised that the issue was only solved by Hooper with 'a nice chat'.

He added: 'I saw the image. I was surprised that VAR didn’t tell Simon to review it better because honestly, with all my respect, Maddison loses his composure and it’s a punch in the stomach of Yates.

'It should have been reviewed and [led to] a different decision, not to chat with the players and it looks like nothing happens

'We did not see it the same way. We didn’t agree, me and VAR. It’s clear for me, I think it’s a red card. I’m surprised Simon solved it with a nice chat.'

Roy Keane and Jamie Redknapp criticised Yates for going down too easily when addressing the incident on Sky Sports.

Redknapp said: 'It's not a lot. Yates is like that, he tries to get into players' faces, a bit like Gascoigne and Vinnie Jones many years ago.'

Keane, who previously worked with Yates at Forest, stated that the 26-year-old went down too easily.

He said: