Ange Postecoglou has reiterated his thoughts on VAR after his side lost their Premier League unbeaten record in a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea.
The Tottenham manager was one of many to be asked for his thoughts on the technology in the wake of Luis Diaz’s wrongly disallowed goal during Liverpool’s visit back in September, of which Postecoglou and his team were the beneficiaries.
Spurs were comprehensively beaten at home in an eventful clash with London rivals Chelsea on Monday night, having seen a player sent off either side of the interval to end the match with nine men.
The stop-start nature of the contest due to VAR interference was a source of frustration in the stands, a feeling which was echoed by Postecoglou in his post-match thoughts.
“Some of it is self-inflicted because if we are going to go out and complain about decisions every week what will happen is what happened today, a forensic study of every decision,” the Spurs boss told Sky Sports after the game.
"The way the game's going, I don't like it" ?
Ange Postecoglou strong on the impact of VAR ? pic.twitter.com/gcb8yCKSJQ
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 6, 2023
“I think that’s the way the game is going. I don’t like it – I could be a lone voice as I’m told that’s the way forward. With VAR intervention it just felt like a lot of standing around.
“At some point, we have to accept the referee’s decision. This constant erosion of referees’ authority, this is what the game is going to get.
“They will not have any authority, it is going to get diminished and we are going to be in the control of someone a few miles away watching a TV screen.”
It comes after Postecoglou was somewhat philosophical about the decision which led to Diaz’s legitimate goal being chalked off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Unlike Mikel Arteta and Vincent Kompany’s recent stance changes, however, the Australian has at least maintained a consistent tone when it comes to addressing the ongoing issues with the technology.
The Tottenham boss’ view on VAR after Liverpool’s visit was similar, saying: “I think I’m on record saying I’ve never really been a fan of [VAR] since it’s come in, not for any other reason than I think it just really complicates areas of the game that I thought were pretty clear in the past.
“But, I can see at the same time why it was inevitable that technology would come in, but I guess we have to deal with it.”
While he wasn’t overly sympathetic towards the unprecedented nature of Liverpool’s misfortune, he has acknowledged in both victory and defeat that VAR continues to have significant flaws that harm the overall product of football.
Other managers have been quicker to change their tune when things have gone against them, and perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised!
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