Ange Postecoglou has admitted he does not want his Tottenham Hotspur defenders to mimic Ben White’s “schoolyard” tactics of distracting goalkeepers at corner kicks.
White intentionally obstructed Spurs stopper Guglielmo Vicario, even attempting to take off the Italian’s gloves, during the recent north London derby, which ultimately led to two first-half goals for Arsenal in a 3-2 win.
With no referee intervention, Postecoglou was forced to make a substitution and alter his Tottenham‘s tactics to specifically mark White at corners, even though it risked creating a greater distraction for his goalkeeper.
Asked whether he felt White’s actions were cheating or simply a case of the dark arts in action, Postecoglou said: “It’s a strategy. You can label it but it’s a strategy.
“I’m not casting judgment. If people are going to think that’s going to give them an advantage or whatever…I don’t worry about that stuff. I just try to focus on building teams that win things. If it’s not going to be that then it’s going to be something else.
“I know it’s great theatre. Whether he [White] is trying to undo his glove, tickle his armpit or whatever… I don’t care. I try to get my players not to focus on that stuff.
“If you want to go down that avenue, what’s he [Vicario] supposed to do? Throw a punch and knock him out? Or say: ‘Please don’t touch me?’ What does that do? Seriously, we’re not in the schoolyard. To be honest, if I saw one of my players do it, I’d be saying: ‘Mate, seriously? Get the ball and play some football’.”
Postecoglou went on to admit he has contacted the referees’ body to ask for further guidance on what constitutes a foul on a goalkeeper.
“I watched the Champions League tie between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid and there was a couple of times they went in on the keeper and it was a foul straight away,” Postecoglou said. “It is a weird one for me.
“You’re allowed to reach out [to the referees’ body]. We just wanted some clarity on what the actual position is on interference on the keeper. I’m ancient and I always thought that the keeper was a bit of a protected species. Maybe that’s shifted now and I missed the memo. Did I get clarity? No, not really.”
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