James Maddison avoids red card for punch but Roy Keane tells Nottingham Forest man: ‘Toughen up!’

Roy Keane believes the right decision was made not to send off James Maddison, even though he hit Nottingham Forest captain Ryan Yates.

Tottenham’s win over Forest was briefly interrupted in the first half when Yates went down following a collision with Maddison.

VAR reviewed the incident which saw Maddison punch Yates in the stomach, but things came to an end when referee Simon Hooper spoke to both players.

Much to the outrage of Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo, Maddison was not disciplined further, with the Portuguese insisting the England international should have seen red.

Nuno told talkSPORT: “I think there are two moments in the first half that can change the game without making it an excuse.

“There is a red card, I saw the images. And the missed opportunity from Chris (Wood) which can change the atmosphere and the conviction for the second half.”

He added: “I saw it, that’s why I’m surprised VAR didn’t see it the same way and spoke to Simon and said: ‘this is what we have seen’.

“I think at that point Maddison loses his composure, reacts and hits him in the stomach without the ball.”

But Roy Keane, who played for Forest, took a dim view of Yates’ actions, with the 26-year-old seen gesturing for the VAR to review the incident.

The Premier League icon also believes Yates went down a little too easily for his liking.

Asked if he thought Maddison should have been shown a red card, Keane replied: “No, not really.

“Yates is a nice guy but this type of behavior (protesting), he does a lot of that. I don’t like the way he looks. He’s asking the officials to look at VAR.

“He doesn’t need to do that. He’s a tough boy, he likes to give it, if you want to give it you have to take it and I think it’s very dramatic the way he goes down.

“Continue the game, toughen up a little.”

The incident occurred with the match locked at 1-1 after Chris Wood’s strike canceled out Spurs’ lead through a Murillo own goal.

Wood then missed a huge chance to put Forest ahead and the visiting side would regret it as a Micky van de Ven piledriver restored Spurs’ lead before Pedro Porro sealed a 3-1 victory.