Postecoglou reacts to the VAR decision and 1-0 defeat at Chelsea

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Tottenham Hotspurs boss Ange Postecoglou reacts to the VAR decision and 1-0 defeat at Chelsea  03/04/2025  Stamford Bridge, London, UK

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00:00Yeah, tough game, it always is when you come here obviously. It was tight, we had to fight

00:09hard to stay in it, which I think we did fairly well obviously. Vicks pulled off a big save

00:16and we had to defend pretty strongly at times. Always a threat going the other way, maybe

00:22a little bit, should have been a little bit more clinical in that front third, but I thought

00:27we were in the game and we conceded a really poor goal, which we've been doing too often

00:34that's costing us and that's really disappointing. But I thought our response from that was really

00:39good, positive. We obviously did equalise and then that got ruled out and then we had

00:47a couple of big chances towards the end. So, yeah, really disappointed to not get something

00:53out of the game.

00:54I'm just going to ask you about the specific incident where the fans seem to taunt you

00:58when you made a substitution, then when perhaps it looks like you scored the goal, you then

01:03look like you've copied it against most of the fans. Is it to say that what's happened

01:09is now that you've scored, now that it's ruled out, can you just talk us through your thinking?

01:14Jeez mate, it's incredible how things get interpreted. We just scored, I just wanted

01:19to hear them cheer because we've been through a tough time and I thought it was a cracking

01:23goal and I wanted them to get really excited because I felt at that point we could potentially

01:28go on and win the game. I just felt momentum was on our way. It doesn't bother me, it's

01:32not the first time they've booed my substitutions or my decisions, that's fine, they're allowed

01:35to do that, but we just scored a goal, we just scored an equaliser. I was just hoping

01:38that we could get some excitement. People want to read into that, that somehow I'm trying

01:42to make a point about something. I said I felt we've been through a tough time but I

01:46just felt there was a bit of a momentum shift there and if they get really behind the lads

01:50I thought we had the momentum to finish on top of them.

01:53You don't feel that is in danger of alienating the fans, putting them on the back foot?

02:00Look John, you know what, I am at such a disconnect with the world these days that who knows,

02:05maybe you're right, I don't know, but that's not what my intention was.

02:09Did you think it was a foul?

02:14But see that's the problem, whether I think it's a foul or not, what does it matter?

02:18What matters is VAR was called in for clear and obvious errors, right?

02:24I've said this a few times already, we all sat on our couches last night and watched

02:28an incident where I reckon if I did a poll in this room and I said after the first replay

02:32what did you think? How long did it take tonight? Six minutes for a clear and obvious error.

02:39Who cares if it's a foul or not? There's so many incidents that are very similar out

02:43there. Now they're saying this becomes a goal, but what does it matter?

02:47What's the point of having a referee then?

02:49Clear and obvious to me is you go to the screen, you see it, oh my God, I've missed that.

02:56We're all, not me because I'm very vocal about it, everyone accepts it.

03:01It's going to be refereed by AI pretty soon.

03:04Like I said, we may as well dispense with the players at some point.

03:07Some guy will come up with a genius way of just having a game of football with no participants

03:11because referees aren't refereeing.

03:13Like I said, to me, if anyone believes that when VAR was brought in that we would be sitting

03:19around for six minutes with a microscope, it's irrelevant whether it's a foul or not.

03:25It's totally irrelevant.

03:26And they're going to say, well, we came to the right decision, but that's irrelevant

03:29because there's so many other decisions out there that are always lying ball that

03:33we'll do that for everyone.

03:35Now, Jared Gillett was on VAR tonight.

03:37Maybe if Jared Gillett was on VAR last night, it would have been a different outcome

03:40because again, it comes down, I guess, to everyone's interpretation.

03:43But I don't like it, mate.

03:45I never liked it.

03:46I don't see how it's benefiting our game.

03:48I don't think anyone would have complained tonight if we just went with referees' decisions.

03:52You get some good, you get some bad, you get on with it.

03:54But the game finishes in 93, 94 minutes.

03:57The game flows instead of us sitting around and doing what, I don't know.

04:01But like I said, I think that's one bit that won't get misinterpreted by me.

04:06I'm pretty consistent in my stance on it.

04:10They did sing some of them saying you don't know what you're doing.

04:14That's quite clear.

04:15That's the first time I've heard them sing that at you.

04:18Did that hurt?

04:20Again, Matt, like, I don't know.

04:24It just doesn't affect me.

04:28If that's what the fans feel and if they feel that I'm not doing a good job,

04:31then they've got every right to express it.

04:33They pay their hard-earned.

04:34They follow the club.

04:35They're the ones that will be here long after I'm gone.

04:38So it doesn't affect me.

04:41What I kind of try and focus on is the things I can control.

04:49I can't control fans.

04:50I can't control many things.

04:52But I can control our football and the way we play

04:57and the way we conduct ourselves.

04:58And that's what I concentrate on.

05:01Thanks.

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