Referee Simon Hooper did not spot the off the ball incident just before half-time – but VAR did take a look.
However, they decided not to punish Maddison.
Fans have been left fuming over the decision, with one saying: “So Maddison can punch someone very CLEARLY and it isn’t an automatic red? Cheers again VAR.”
Another added: “How has Maddison not been sent off for that? Clear punch.”
A third reacted: “Maddison should be off. Punching the Nottingham Forest lad on the stomach is a red. Not even a yellow given.”
Others thought yate was lucky to not receive his marching orders as he signalled for the referee to check VAR.
He was already on a yellow card and a player would normally get a booking for such a gesture.
Pundit jamie said at half-time that “there was not enough in it”.
Meanwhile, Roy Keane slammed the way Yates fell to the floor, calling him “a nice kid” – but said he goes down easily too often.
Spurs went ahead in the game when Murillo turned a cross into his own net.
But Forest levelled things before the break as chris wood smashed the ball home beyond Guglielmo Vicario.
Spurs then regained the lead as Micky van de Ven’s powerful strike flew into the top corner.
And Pedro Porro made it 3-1 as Spurs moved into the top four.
VAR assessed the incident but Maddison escaped punishment, with Hooper speaking to both players before the action got back underway.
Fans were adamant that James Maddison should have been sent off for ‘punching’ Ryan Yates
Redknapp suggested Yates was to blame for the incident. Speaking on Sky Sports, he 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.
Keane said: ‘I worked with Yates at Forest, really nice kid, but every week somebody touches him he goes down. He goes down far too easily. For such a decent lad he needs to cut that out of his game.’
One Forest supporter was especially livid at the fact that Maddison wasn’t dismissed.
They wrote: ‘Can someone PLEASE tell me what on earth James Maddison is still doing on the pitch???? He has literally PUNCHED Yates???’.
Another user wrote: ‘Maddison just allowed to punch Yates in the stomach?’.
In addition, another user stressed that Maddison should have been punished following a VAR check.
They wrote: ‘Hows VAR watching maddison punch Yates and doing nothing ffs’.
There was further criticism of VAR, with one user writing: ‘Maddison just punched Yates and VAR does nothing’.
The decision to not punish Maddison was also described as ‘unbelievable’, as one user wrote: ‘James Maddison punching Ryan Yates in the stomach. VAR cleared it. Unbelievable’.
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