Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has backed referee Stuart Attwell over his controversial decision to not send off Lucas Bergvall against Liverpool.
Attwell made history at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, becoming the first referee in England to make an announcement to the crowd to explain a VAR decision after Dominic Solanke’s strike was ruled out for a tight offside in the second-half.
Just minutes later, Bergvall, who had been booked earlier, clattered into Liverpool left-back Kostas Tsimikas but play continued with Arne Slot’s side on the counter-attack. The move did not result in a goal and Bergvall was NOT dismissed despite the protests of the Liverpool players.
With Tsimikas off the field for treatment, Spurs scored the only goal of the game to snatch victory with Bergvall netting his first of the season.
Slot was booked for his protests on the sideline in what was only his second defeat since replacing Jurgen Klopp in the dugout.
Spurs boss Postecoglou was asked about the decision in his post-match interview and claimed Bergvall was not lucky to still be on the pitch to score the winner.
"Great question. He wasn't. No he wasn't,” he told Sky Sports.
"Because people misinterpret my comments from the other day, the rule is and we've been told for quite a while now, as long as advantage gets played, if it's not a cynical tackle then the yellow card doesn't [come out].
"We've been screaming for it for the last two months, it's happened to us consistently, have a look at our games. We've asked the officials.
“If you play advantage, as long as it's not a cynical tackle, then the yellow card doesn't get paid. To me, that was pretty clear."
Postecoglou expanded on his comments in depth during his post-match press conference and took a huge swipe at the state of English football and the desire to constantly change the game.
He described English people as ‘custodians of the game’ and questioned how technology was being allowed to shape the modern game.
“I’m really surprised at how people in this country are so easily letting the game change so much so quickly,” said Postecoglou. “It’s changed more since VAR has come in since I’ve been involved than in the past 50 years. We never used to debate offsides, we never used to debate handballs, we never used to debate holding in the box, we never used to debate so many things.
“I mean, did everyone really love the announcement today? Did that give you a real buzz? I mean, seriously. My understanding of it is, this is what the people want. That’s what I keep getting told.
“I understand that and I understand that VAR is going to be there. Technology is going to be a part of life, but it’s like my wife and our kids. We know technology but she limits their screen time. Why? You know, to slow things down, I think.
“We’ve just got to be careful about constantly… why do we want to change the game so much? And I know I’m going to be the old bloke in the stands that keeps shouting ‘boo’ every time and I’ll be the only one, but I just thought people would be a little bit more protective about the sanctity of the game.
“I think there’s a lot of confusion at the moment. That’s my belief, that the game is changing on the basis of technology, and I’m saying, ‘Why isn’t anyone speaking up about it?’ Especially in this country who, for all intents and purposes, you guys think you’re custodians of the game, you’ve got a song that says. ‘It’s coming home’.
“This is your game, and yet it takes an Aussie from the other side of the world to be the one that’s most conservative about changes. I’m happy to just be the lone voice of saying, ‘Just leave the game alone for a bit’.
“Even extra time now, minutes added on, minutes added on here, we never used to talk about these things before. Yet now everything is changing, so that was my [point]. So today, I can see why Arne [Slot] would be very disappointed [with the Bergvall decision]. If that was me, I’d be disappointed as well, but apparently they’re the rules.”