James Maddison defends ref Oliver after he was booked for T-shirt tribute to cancer victim

JAMES MADDISON defended Michael Oliver after the referee booked him for his tearjerking tribute to “his best friend”.

The Leicester star, 22, smashed in his side’s opener with a free-kick at Burnley and ripped off his shirt to reveal the message, “RIP Sophie I Love You”.

Maddison was dedicating his goal to Sophie Taylor, the five-year-old girl he supported throughout her battle with cancer.

He regularly visited her and was heartbroken when she passed away in January.

His strike at Turf Moor was the first time the former Norwich midfielder had found the net since December 5.

Some criticism was directed at Oliver for showing the yellow card but official rules meant he had to book him for removing his shirt — he did give the England Under-21 international an apologetic pat on the back.

And Maddison tweeted: “A free kick @SuperStrongSoph would have been proud of. That was for you soph, I know you were watching.

“Also, regarding tweets about Michael Oliver, he’s just doing his job and didn’t have a choice.

“He didn’t enjoy showing me a yellow and shared his condolences about the passing of Sophie which I thought was very respectful.”

The Twitter account for Sophie, which has provided emotional updates throughout her journey and since her passing, thanked Maddison for his gesture.

It wrote: “Thank you @Madders10 for a lovely tribute to Sophie today. Sophie would have been watching. Family and friends are so proud.

“You are a special footballer and a special person. You deserve lots of respect and the plaudits are well earned.

“Well done @LCFC on a great win xx”

Despite having Harry Maguire sent off in the fourth minute, Leicester managed to snatch victory when Wes Morgan headed in a 90th-minute winner after Dwight McNeil equalised for the Clarets.

Fellow Premier League official Lee Probert was ridiculed when he reluctantly had to show Maddison’s team-mate Demarai Gray a yellow card at Cardiff in November.

Gray scored the first goal for Leicester after the tragic helicopter crash which claimed the lives of the chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others.

Like Maddison, the winger took off his shirt to reveal the message, “For Khun Vichai” in an emotional game for everybody connected with Leicester City.