Brighton fire brutal James Maddison jibe after Tottenham collapse.
Brighton had the last laugh over James Maddison following his darts celebration during their stunning comeback win against Tottenham.
The Spurs midfielder had put his team further ahead on the south coast with a cool finish after Brennan Johnson’s opener. Celebrating in his usual fashion, Maddison mimed throwing a dart at a TV camera.
However, Brighton turned the match around with strikes from Yankuba Minteh, Georginio Rutter, and Danny Welbeck, leading to jubilant scenes at the Amex Stadium. Post-match, the club’s DJ joined in the fun by playing Planet Funk’s ‘Chase The Sun’, synonymous with darts events, through the PA system, seemingly poking fun at Maddison’s signature celebration.
The England international has been known for this celebration since his Leicester days and once shared in 2022: “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 setback against Brighton unearthed yet another chapter of controversy for the darts celebration saga. Cast your minds back to 2023’s North London derby, where Bukayo Saka indulged in the gesture post-penalty, prompting the former Leicester star Maddison to jest about his international mate’s choice.
“Me and Bukayo had a bit of banter and a bit of trash-talking, if you like, on international duty,” Maddison added. “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.”
The pantomime didn’t relent as Spurs overcame Brentford in a thriller, witnessing Bees’ Neal Maupay mime a dart throw after netting. The scene set for drama, Maddison evidently exchanged strong words with Maupay, while Johnson answered on the pitch by mirroring the celebration in retaliation after putting Spurs ahead.
Post-match revelations saw Maddison talking to TNT Sports and 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!”
But Maupay hit back via Instagram: “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.”
