Tottenham’s Ange Postecoglou Questions Rapid Changes In Football

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has expressed his concerns about the rapid changes in football, particularly since the introduction of VAR, and has called on English football to better protect the sport as “custodians of the game.” The 59-year-old made these comments following Wednesday’s 1-0 Carabao Cup semifinal first leg win over Liverpool, secured through Lucas Bergvall’s 86th-minute winner.

The match was notable for the first in-stadium VAR announcement by a match official, with referee Stuart Attwell confirming over the sound system that Dominic Solanke’s 77th-minute strike had been ruled out for offside. This latest innovation attempts to make football’s decision-making more accurate and transparent, but Postecoglou questioned the necessity of such changes.

“I’m really surprised at how people in this country are so easily letting the game change so much so quickly. It’s changed more since VAR has come in since I’ve been involved than in the past 50 years,” Postecoglou said. “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, and it seems like…I mean, did everyone really love the announcement today?”

The Australian-born manager likened the rapid changes in football to his wife’s approach to their children’s screen time, emphasizing the need to slow things down. “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 screen time. Why? Slow things down, I think. We’ve just got to be careful about [asking] 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 keep shouting ‘boo’ every time and I’ll be the only one.”

Postecoglou also questioned why more people in England, who consider themselves “custodians of the game,” are not speaking up about the rapid changes. “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 feel, 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.”

Despite his reservations about the changes in the game, Postecoglou admitted that the correct call had been made regarding Bergvall’s potential second yellow card, even though he sympathized with Liverpool boss Arne Slot’s frustration. “We’ve been told consistently in the last few weeks, because I’ve been screaming about it from the sidelines as a lot of teams have got away with a lot of fouls with us, without bookings, because the referee plays advantage,” he said. “We’ve been told consistently that if we play advantage, as long as it’s not a cynical foul, then the player does not get cautioned. Today, I can see why Arne would be very disappointed, if that was me, I’d be disappointed as well, but apparently they’re the rules.”