As Son Heung-min’s goals were canceled one after another, the kind Tottenham Hotspur manager Anji Postecoglou also cursed and did not hide his anger.
“I am an old school student. The referee thinks I am a police officer,” he said, revealing his opposition to VAR. 안전놀이터
“The Spurs Watch,” a Tottenham professional media outlet, said on SNS on the 28th (Korea time), “Postecoglou cursed Son Heung-min’s goal, which was canceled just before the end of the first half.”
The media shared a video of two Korean travelers who went to watch the Tottenham game in person. About eight seconds or so of video footage showed Son Heung-min’s goal canceled in the 44th minute of the first half and then moved on to VAR to replay it on the electronic display.
In the end, after the goal was canceled, Postecoglou’s reaction was also caught on camera. He rolled down the ground loudly and uttered the nutmeg “Fxxxing Hell” in an angry voice.
Tottenham lost 1-2 in the 13th round of the 2023/24 English Premier League against Aston Villa at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, its home stadium, on the 26th.
What is unique is that Son shook the net three times on the day, but all of them were canceled due to offside. Notably, he attempted a right foot kick in the so-called “Himmin Zone” in the 44th minute of the first half, and scored a beautiful goal as if it were a picture. However, when Son penetrated the opponent’s straight defense, he fell into an offside trap due to a narrow difference.
Postecoglou was nervous as midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was forced to counterattack after being injured in the 32nd minute of the first half. As the goal was canceled, he felt no better.
Postecoglou always keeps calm when he speaks publicly after his inauguration as Tottenham manager, and only chooses words and actions that are necessary. However, as Son Heung-min’s amazing goal is called “no goal,” he seems to have expressed his frustration with both regret and anger.
Bentancur was put on hold in a series of offensives after he was replaced by an injury early on, but he dominated Aston Villa enough in the first half to dominate the performance. However, after Son Heung-min’s right foot kick was canceled, the defender did not secure enough provision in the situation of Aston Villa set-piece at the end of the first half, and he dedicated a header to the penetrating opponent Pau Torres to finish the first half 1-1.
Tottenham’s offensive continued in the second half, but Unai Emery, the former Arsenal manager who leads Aston Villa, took a higher defensive line against Tottenham and made offside several times. In the end, Son Heung-min scored two goals in the second half, but all were canceled after VAR.
In addition, the hard-won opportunity was destroyed in front of Emiliano Martinez, Aston Villa’s goalkeeper and the best goalkeeper at last year’s World Cup in Qatar.
Postecoglou commented in an interview after the game, saying, “I was dissatisfied with our team in the last game against Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves), but this time my performance has definitely improved.” Considering that Tottenham had core resources James Maddison and Mickey Pantherpen due to injuries, it was positive that he showed a strong performance against Aston Villa, which had 7 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses in the last 10 games.