Long-running rivalry started after Neal Maupay and his dart celebration at Tottenham
Brentford striker Neal Maupay mocked Tottenham midfielder James Maddison on social media after the Englishman was excluded from the England 33-player probable squad list by Gareth Southgate.
Maddison was the first one to be cut from the England probable squad ahead of the European Championship. The Spurs midfielder played 30 minutes in the recent England friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which the English team won 3-0. The player was also included in the England squad for World Cup 2022, but the 27-year-old couldn’t get a single-minute playtime in Qatar.
The battle between the two Premier League stars started with Brentford’s visit to North London in the last campaign. James Maddison and Neal Maupay heated the game last February at N17. The visitors netted their first goal of the night, Maupay found the spot in the net after Guglielmo Vicario cleared the shot by Bees striker Ivan Toney.
Maupay and Toney celebrated the goal in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Maddison’s ‘iconic dart celebration’. The Englishman was making his first start in months after recently recovering from a long-term injury but thought Maupay was mocking him with the use of his famous celebration. Both the players had a slight argument on the pitch, which ended up with the North Londoners beating Brentford for three goals against two.
“He hasn’t scored enough goals to have his own celebration!”
Maddison responded to TNT Sports on Maupay, copying his celebration. In return, the Bee’s striker also posted a picture of him using Maddison’s celebration with the caption: “Gutted we couldn’t get the win. More goals and fewer relegations in my career than James Maddison. We go again, Monday Bees.”
Maupay have now came up with the same ‘darts’ to mock the exclusion of Maddison from England’s probable squad. Frenchman holding up three darts in front of a dartboard is the new post on ‘X’ by Maupay is the latest episode of the long-running rivalry between the two.
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James Maddison has represented the England national team 7 times, whereas Maupay hasn’t made any appearances for France. We have to wait for Maddison’s reply to Maupay’s post, and the fans will spice up the rivalry in the coming days. Anyway, both Premier League stars have to support their respective national teams from home.
