- Tottenham were denied a late equaliser after a VAR review of around six minutes
- Postecoglou railed against the system which he feels negatively impacts games
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Ange Postecoglou doubled down on his criticism of VAR and revealed he feels ‘disconnected’ from the game in the wake of Tottenham’s denial of an equaliser against Chelsea following a lengthy delay.
Spurs fell to their 16th Premier League defeat of the season on Thursday night as Enzo Fernandez’s header continued the Blues’ remarkable run of home results against their London rivals.
But it was the Australian and his team who were the story of the night as the loss revealed familiar fissures between the club and its fanbase. Postecoglou was in conflict with Spurs fans – who booed his decision to replace Lucas Bergvall with Pape Matar Sarr – and then the officials after they chalked off the Senegalese’s long-range strike for a foul in the build-up.
On Friday, the Australian doubled down on his criticism of the technology that denied his side a moral-boosting point and wondered why he is alone in slamming the system.
‘Maybe I was influenced by England and the old First Division,’ he said. ‘I loved the frenetic pace. I could have watched other divisions but it was always England, end-to-end stuff, speed and tempo, I loved that.
‘I’ve tried to design a game plan that has tempo and energy because I feel if you want people in there, you want them off their seat. There was 12 minutes of extra time yesterday that’s not why VAR was brought in.
Ange Postecoglou doubled down on his criticism of VAR and revealed he feels ‘disconnected’ from the game
The north London club fell to their 16th defeat of the Premier League campaign at Stamford Bridge
Postecoglou claimed that he made a mistake in celebrating Sarr’s goal that was eventually ruled out
‘I am the lone voice. I don’t hear anyone else saying. That’s why I am sat here and saying maybe I am disconnected. When I retire, I will probably watch less football and find another hobby.
‘VAR has been here a long time, taking six minutes and from day-to-day I don’t know whether someone will intervene or not. It seems everyone okay with that and that’s where disconnect is for me.’
Postecoglou was involved in a frosty post-match interview with Sky Sports and attempted to downplay a moment during the second half when he appeared to cup his ear in the direction of the away end at Stamford Bridge.
The gesture came in the immediate aftermath of Sarr’s strike in the 69th minute. Moments prior, Postecoglou had substituted Sarr for Bergvall and the Spurs fans responded with boos and chants of: ‘You don’t know what you’re doing.’
Seemingly in response, Postecoglou turned toward the away section and cupped his ear.
The Spurs boss claimed that it was a mistake to celebrate the goal and cited previous experiences in Scotland with similarly contentions strikes where he opted against a celebration.
‘I made a mistake last night in that I celebrated a goal. Since VAR came in here, there were four or five incidents in Scotland and I thought I am not really going to celebrate goals.
‘I just felt we needed something, cracking goal from Pape [Matar Sarr], I heard the fans weren’t happy and I felt the need to celebrate and it could be a real momentum shift to finish strong. My mistake was celebrating a goal, VAR defeated me, I won’t be doing that again.’
