Brighton rub salt into Tottenham wounds with brutal James Maddison jibe
James Maddison scored at Brighton on Sunday after Brennan Johnson’s opener but Tottenham somehow collapsed to lose 3-2 in a baffling display on the South Coast
by Daniel Orme · The MirrorBrighton got the last laugh against James Maddison after mocking his darts celebration in their comeback victory against Tottenham.
The Tottenham playmaker doubled the lead for the North London side on the South Coast after Brennan Johnson’s opener. After finding the net, Maddison chose to celebrate in trademark style as he picked out a television camera and threw a pretend dart.
But Spurs conspired to collapse as goals from Yankuba Minteh, Georginio Rutter and Danny Welbeck turned the game on its head. The final whistle triggered wild celebrations at the Amex Stadium.
And the club’s DJ chose to get involved in the post-match antics. Planet Funk’s Chase The Sun, a tune usually played at the darts, was played over the club’s PA system after the game in what was an apparent dig at Maddison’s celebration.
The England man has been performing the move when scoring a goal since his time at Leicester and previously explained why he chose to adopt it. Speaking in 2022, he said: “The first time I did it was Newcastle away and it was during the Worlds.
“It was very much a topic of conversation and me and a few of the lads; Jamie Vardy, Luke Thomas and Harvey Barnes, we play darts all the time. Every away trip we get the board up when we’ve got time to kill and we play. I’ve got a board at home and I practice all the time!”
Sunday's defeat to Brighton is not the first time that the celebration has courted controversy. During a North London derby draw in 2023, Bukayo Saka performed the move after netting a penalty and Maddison joked that he would be having stern words with his England colleague.
He said: "Me and Bukayo had a bit of banter and a bit of trash-talking, if you like, on international duty. I got told that he did the darts celebration - he must've still been doing it when I turned him for the first goal... I'll have a little word with him, yeah."
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The darts-themed celebrations then got more attention in February this year after Spurs beat Brentford 3-2. Bees striker Neal Maupay pretended to throw a dart after opening the scoring.
Maddison then shared stern words with the Frenchman, while Spurs got their own back as Brennan Johnson mocked Maupay with his own celebration after turning the game on its head.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, Maddison said: "He probably hasn't scored enough goals in the last couple of years for his own celebration, so he probably had to copy mine!"
Maupay then posted a brutal response on Instagram. He said: "Went a bit early with that one [the celebration]. Gutted we couldn't get the win. More goals and less relegations in my career than James Maddison. We go again Monday Bees."
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