Tottenham Hotspur’s manager, Ange Postecoglou, was visibly frustrated following their 3-1 victory against Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday. His irritation stemmed from the nearly five-minute delay caused by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in overturning a Spurs goal due to offside.
Lucas Bergvall thought he had doubled their lead with a goal from a set-piece in the 33rd minute, slotting the ball into the bottom corner. However, after a lengthy VAR check of four minutes and fifty seconds, the goal was deemed offside.
As the restless crowd expressed their discontent with boos, Postecoglou was seen mimicking flipping an imaginary coin and engaging in a game of rock-paper-scissors, suggesting that the decision seemed based more on chance than on clear judgment.
“A few years back, if you had told me we would stand around for five minutes during a football match, I would have found it hard to believe,” Postecoglou remarked to the media.
“They draw those lines to determine offside—does anyone really find that convincing? This isn’t aimed at any individual… but waiting five minutes, I honestly don’t think that’s the purpose of technology in the game.”
“I feel we’ve strayed too far down this path to turn back now. We used to rely on the assistants to make those calls, and we all accepted their decisions.”
The 59-year-old echoed that offside rulings were never intended to be “microscopically scrutinised” and expressed his desire for such decisions to be made much more swiftly.
The Premier League has announced that semi-automated offside technology will debut later this month after successful trials in the FA Cup.
“I just cannot comprehend that this was the intention behind implementing technology—to stand around for five minutes only to reach a conclusion that still seems, in my view, inconclusive,” Postecoglou added.
Stay updated on Tottenham’s clash with Southampton.
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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