VAR called Bogle's tackle on Tel reckless, yet he wasn't booked and Tel left in a boot

The officials who reviewed Jayden Bogle's challenge on Mathys Tel at Elland Road agreed it was reckless. They said so in the explanation of the decision. Bogle still finished Saturday's game without a card, Leeds beat Tottenham 1-0, and Tel left the stadium on crutches with his left foot in a protective boot.

The challenge came in the 34th minute, when Bogle's studs caught Tel on the left ankle. Referee John Brooks did not show a card, and VAR Tony Harrington, working with assistant Matt Wilkes, looked at it for more than four minutes before backing him.

"I'm confirming the on-field decision of no red card," the VAR said, according to the explanation reported by Football.London. "There's a lack of speed going into the challenge, and he's stepping into the tackle. Confirming a reckless challenge."

That is where the decision gets awkward. Under the laws of the game, a reckless tackle is a yellow-card offense, but VAR can only intervene for a possible red, not a second look at a caution. So the review cleared Bogle of serious foul play, described the challenge as worth a booking, and left the original no-card call in place.

Tel tried to carry on after lengthy treatment but went down again a few minutes later and was replaced by Dominic Solanke. Noah Okafor scored the only goal in the 79th minute, ending a winning run for Roberto De Zerbi's team and leaving Spurs 11th with 12 points from 10 games.

De Zerbi did not hide his worry afterwards. "Mathys had a bad injury on the ankle. We need to make a medical check to understand the situation," he told the club's channel, and in his press conference he repeated: "Bad injury."

He would not go further on the tackle itself. "I can't say something more because I didn't see clearly the situation," he said, before adding: "I was surprised because in the same position in the second half, two different fouls, two yellow cards for Pedro Porro. It's not possible. I don't know if it was a red card or not on Mathys Tel."

Four days later, Spurs have not made the results of Monday's scans public. Several reports say the damage may be to the Achilles area rather than the ankle alone, which would mean a longer layoff, although nothing has been confirmed. The French federation has already pulled him out of the Under-21 camp at Clairefontaine and chose not to replace him for the friendlies against Italy on Nov. 13 and England on Nov. 16. Tottenham are also reported to be planning to formally ask for an explanation of the decision.

The next clear update should come before Spurs host Ipswich Town on Nov. 21. De Zerbi will not be on the touchline for that one: according to Tottenham Insight, he serves a one-game ban after his third booking of the season. The better news is that Lucas Bergvall, Mykhailo Mudryk and Sávio are all targeting a return around that game.

Whatever answer the referees' body sends back, it will not change the result at Elland Road or bring Tel back any sooner. For now, the only official word on his injury is still the one De Zerbi gave on Saturday: bad.