MX23RW : Thursday, November 7 20:29:13| >> :60:1150:1150:
[monks data]
Spurs logo
Premier League | Gameweek 7
Sep 30, 2023 at 5.30pm UK
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Liverpool logo

Spurs
2 - 1
Liverpool

Heung-min (36'), Matip (90+6' og.)
Udogie (45+3'), Bissouma (88'), Romero (89'), Porro (90+7'), Veliz (90+8')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Gakpo (45+4')
Mac Allister (40'), Salah (65'), Jota (68'), Robertson (87'), van Dijk (90+5')
Jones (26'), Jota (69')

Ange Postecoglou defends referees, warns VAR will "never" be perfect

Ange Postecoglou defends referees, warns VAR will
© Reuters
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou warns disgruntled fans that VAR will "never" be perfect after his side's controversial win over a nine-man Liverpool side.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has defended under-fire Premier League referees and warned fans that VAR is "never" going to be perfect following his side's unforgettable 2-1 win over Liverpool in North London.

The Lilywhites maintained their unbeaten start to the season in controversial circumstances on Saturday evening, where Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones was given a straight red card in the 26th minute for a crunching tackle on Yves Bissouma.

Despite going down to 10 men, Jurgen Klopp's side put the ball in the back of the net through Luis Diaz, but the Colombian's effort was ruled out for offside - a decision which the PGMOL have since admitted was incorrect.

After VAR failed to intervene to award Diaz's goal, Son Heung-min tapped home from Richarlison's cutback, but Cody Gakpo's smart turn and finish drew the visitors level on the stroke of the break.

However, referee Simon Hooper was the victim of Liverpool fan fury early in the second half, banishing Diogo Jota from the field for two yellow-card tackles on Destiny Udogie, who appeared to trip himself up on the Portuguese's first offence.

Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min celebrates scoring their first goal on September 30, 2023© Reuters

Nevertheless, the nine men of Liverpool held out extremely well, but with the final attack of the game, Joel Matip turned Pedro Porro's cross into his own net to gift Tottenham all three points and send the disconsolate Reds home empty-handed.

Following the PGMOL's admission of a "significant human error" over Diaz's disallowed goal, Klopp insisted that the statement was worthless, as his side still left the capital with zero points to their name.

In his post-match press conference, Postecoglou did not comment on the individual cases from Saturday's game, but he affirmed that officials will make errors in the same way that players and managers will mess up, no matter whether they have access to technology or not.

"We have to deal with it. The biggest problem I think that we have is that we seem to fail to grasp is that no form of technology is going to make the game errorless. We used to understand that errors were part of the game, including officiating errors," the Australian said.

"You'd have to cop it and some people would cop it better than others but that was part of the game. The game is littered with historical refereeing decisions that weren't right but we all accepted it that it was part of the game because we're dealing with human beings.

Liverpool's Joel Matip looks dejected after scoring an own goal and Tottenham Hotspur's second on September 30, 2023© Reuters

"I think that people are under the misconception that VAR is going to be errorless. I don't think there's any technology, because so much of our game isn't factual. It's down to interpretation and they're still human beings. They're going to make mistakes the same way managers make mistakes, the same way players make mistakes.

"When you put such a high bar on something it invariably is going to fail, so if people are thinking that VAR is going to be something that at some point that is perfect, that's never going to happen.

"We obviously had the man extra and there were a fair few fouls so I think it was an accumulation of things, but they are decisions against another team. I haven't commented on decisions against our team this year and there were a couple of times I felt it could have gone either way so I'll leave it for others to decide if right or wrong."

Postecoglou also allayed fears of a fresh issue to captain Son, who was an injury doubt before the game and was ostensibly struggling as he made his way off the pitch, claiming that the South Korean's withdrawal was pre-planned.

"Look, he wasn't 100% but I had a chat with him yesterday and he was desperate to play. He was going to give what he could and he did. He was never going to play the whole 90, we were always going to give him an hour or so but he led from the front again and he was the one doing the pressing. He got his goal as well so great captain's effort," Postecoglou added.

Spurs - who remain unbeaten in the Premier League this season - occupy second place in the rankings ahead of a trip to newly-promoted Luton Town in seven days' time.

ID:525396:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect6745:No Data Analysis info

Click here for more stories about Ange Postecoglou

Click here for more stories about Liverpool

Game History

How you voted: Luton vs Wolves

Luton Town
22.3%
Draw
13.7%
Wolverhampton Wanderers
64.0%
175
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Liverpool's Joel Matip looks dejected after scoring an own goal and Tottenham Hotspur's second on September 30, 2023
Read Next:
PGMOL admit "significant human error" over disallowed Diaz goal
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!